Silence
by fanwriter1245
Summary: Adalina, the head maid at Phantomhive Manor, is a mute. It's not that she can't speak, it's that she won't and no one knows why. Sebastian suddenly starts to experience strange feelings for her that he cannot seem to explain. After all, demons don't love...right? SebastianxOC
1. Chapter 1

**As far as where the story takes place in the timeline, it takes place several months after Book of Circus, but kind of just ignores everything that happened after that and assumes that Ciel and Sebastian were taking care of other things during that time that aren't important.**

* * *

"Good morning, my lord," Sebastian said as he opened the curtains in Ciel's bedroom. The young earl stirred, displeased with having to be woken up. "This morning, I have prepared poached eggs with some biscuits and jam. Today, you have a violin lesson and a History lesson. Then later this evening, you have a meeting with the head of the Funtom Company branch stationed in France, a Mr. Antoine Dumont."

"How positively boring," Ciel grumbled.

The young boy sat up and Sebastian began to dress him. "Nevertheless, we shall offer the full Phantomhive hospitality."

"Do whatever you please. Let's just make this meeting as quick as possible. I don't particularly enjoy business talk. It's so dreadfully dull."

"Yes, my lord."

Ciel headed down to the dining room where Sebastian began serving him his prepared breakfast.

"I shall begin the preparations for our guest, young master. In the meantime, I believe your tutor for your violin lesson has arrived."

"Send him to my study."

"Yes, my lord."

Sebastian exited the dining room and directed Ciel's tutor up to the study where his young master would go once his breakfast was finished.

"Adalina!"

The young head maid turned at the sound of the butler's voice calling her name.

"We have an important guest coming to the manor in a few hours. I would like your help with the preparations."

Adalina curtseyed and followed Sebastian to begin preparing for the French businessman to visit.

Sebastian briefly glanced back at the young woman walking behind him through the hallways. Since he had hired her to work at the manor, she never said a single word nor did she ever truly smile. When she did smile, it was such a small one that it was barely noticeable. He was rather curious to know what had happened to make her this way as he knew that her mutism was elective, but he couldn't get it out of her. All he knew of her was that he and his young master had found her alone on the streets of London while working a case. Ciel had initially dismissed her as just another beggar, but Sebastian saw otherwise. His first priority was his master's safety, and he knew right away that for that reason, she had to become a servant at Phantomhive Manor.

After she had worked under him for about a year, he had asked if she would write down what had happened to her in the past to see if he could understand why she never spoke. But in response, she had made no movements and looked down at the floor. He could take the hint.

Nevertheless, Adalina was a valuable asset to Phantomhive manor. She was quick on her feet, incredibly obedient, and she was able to use whatever she had on hand to get out of a tough situation. Ciel was happy to trust her with his life.

She was a shy girl, but she had a devious side as well when necessary. On more than one occasion, she had helped Sebastian intimidate the other servants and/or visiting guests. She would admit that she did get a kick out of scaring those who meant Ciel harm.

Adalina clearly cared for the boy. She would gladly give her life to protect him. It wasn't a motherly kind of affection nor even a sisterly one. Adalina knew her place and that meant she was nothing more than a servant in his eyes. A highly respected one, but a servant all the same.

Truth be told, she got along quite well with Sebastian. They worked very well together, but perhaps that was only because Adalina was the only other competent servant who could actually do her job properly. While Sebastian did secretly wish that she would speak and open up a bit more as he knew every other servants' story and disliked not knowing hers, he quite liked being able to work alongside someone in comfortable silence. After all, with the other servants, peace and quiet was a luxury he would not be gifted with.

While she had later been informed of the other servants' abilities, she did not yet know of Sebastian's true motives nor did she know of his true identity.

There was a knock on the door, and Adalina quickly answered it.

" _Bonjour_!" the man on the other greeted. "I am here to meet with the Earl Phantomhive!"

Adalina politely curtseyed and motioned for him to come inside. The man raised an eyebrow at the maid's silence but followed her inside. She led him up the stairs and down the hall to Ciel's study before knocking on the door.

"Enter," Ciel's voice said from inside the room.

Adalina opened the door and the Frenchman walked inside. "Thank you."

As she walked in herself, she saw that Sebastian was already inside the room giving some tea to Ciel. "Would our guest like some tea?" he asked.

" _Oui_ , that would be lovely."

Sebastian obediently poured the man a small cup of tea and handed it to him with a small bow. "We are very pleased to have you here today."

"Thank you, I am pleased to be here."

"What's so important that we had to schedule this meeting?" Ciel asked as he rested his head on his fist.

"Ah. The branch of the Funtom Company I run is doing very well. Your father made a wise decision when he left me in charge. You look like him, you know."

"Please get to the point."

"Oh, yes. Well, our branch is looking to begin making other toys rather than just stuffed animals. We're looking to sell small puzzles, board games, and we'd even like to begin manufacturing food items as well. All to please our young customers, of course."

"I see. What kind of food?"

"Oh, well, we were thinking perhaps assorted candies and chocolates along with cakes and custards."

Ciel mulled over the idea, his love for sweets clouding his judgment ever so slightly. "I don't see a problem with such a proposal. I'd like to be kept updated on any and all developments during this process. And I must have monthly reports of the profits and losses that occur."

"Of course, Monsieur Phantomhive. If you would just sign these papers, our business is complete."

The man took several sheets of paper out of his coat pocket and placed them in front of Ciel. Ciel lazily signed his messy signature on the appropriate lines.

"I warn you, should anything go wrong, I'll have several people on hand to deal with the matter accordingly," the boy said ominously.

"Uh, of course. Would you be so kind as to let me use your phone? I need to inform the others that you have approved."

"Indeed. Adalina, would you show this man to our phone?"

Adalina curtseyed again and led Dumont to the lower level of the house where the phone was stored.

"Thank you, my dear," the man smiled. "Why don't you return to your master? I can find my way back."

Adalina nodded her head as Dumont stepped towards the phone. She knew that as a servant, she should never eavesdrop on a guest's conversation. But there was something off about their visitor, and she didn't like the fact that he had tried to get rid of her while he talked to whoever was on the other end. If caught, she could easily use the excuse that she felt Ciel was in danger and that was why she felt she had to listen in.

Yes, that would do nicely.

"He approved of it," the Frenchman said to the person on the other end. "He's already signed the papers so we can begin as soon as possible. It was too easy. He didn't even blink before signing the forms. He truly is a kid after all if just the mention of chocolate was enough for him to agree with me. Our plan is underway. Make sure those drugs get wrapped up nice and easily. Be careful, but don't worry too much. If we get caught, all blame will go to that Phantomhive brat, and _he'll_ be the one to take the heat!"

Adalina pursed her lips. She knew he was up to no good. Well, she was not going to let anyone harm her young master in this way. As she backed away from the door before she got caught listening in on the phone call, she bumped into something. She frantically turned around and found herself face-to-face with Sebastian. At first, she was worried that he was going to berate her for eavesdropping. Nothing was scarier than an angry Sebastian.

Instead to her relief, he just gave her one of his trademark smiles that told her he had something up his sleeve.

Dumont exited the room and saw Sebastian standing down the hallway without Adalina.

"Forgive me, sir, but I was informed that you had dismissed the head maid. However, I feared that in your attempts to return to the study, you may end up stumbling upon things that are not meant for your eyes. So I have come to escort you back."

The Frenchman did his best to suppress his irritation. "Yes, of course. How noble of you."

Sebastian smiled politely as he began to lead the man along the route that would take them back to Ciel's study.

The butler took out his pocket watch and examined the time. He turned to Dumont with another smile. "If you'll excuse me, there's a matter I must take of elsewhere. The young master's study is just up the stairs and down the hall. I trust you can find it on your own."

"Oh, yes I can."

As Sebastian left, the Frenchman smirked to himself. Things in the manor he shouldn't see, eh? What kind of things was the young Earl Phantomhive trying to hide from him?

Dumont decided to try a few of the doors as he made his way back to the study.

Upon opening the first door, he was greeted with a dark room and saw a man with a knife raised above his head, his teeth gleaming in a sadistic smile. When he brought the knife down, an ear-piercing scream rang out.

Dumont's eyes widened, and he quickly shut the door. Surely that could not have been what he thought it was.

"OW!" Mey-Rin squealed. "I cut my finger cleaning up the broken plate, I did!"

"You gotta be more careful, Mey-Rin," Baldroy told the maid. "And could you try to keep it down? I'm cuttin' up the cake for Sebastian to give to the young master. I wonder why he wanted it in here instead of in the kitchen…"

Dumont took a couple of deep breaths. It had to just be a misunderstanding. That was all it was.

He continued down the hall and after trying a few locked doors, he came upon another unlocked one. When he opened this door, he saw red liquid all over the place and a young boy hefting what looked like a body up into his arms.

How did a kid possess enough strength to carry a body with one arm?!

Dumont quickly shut the door and fell backwards. What kind of servants worked in this manor? Did the Earl realize that he had hired complete lunatics?!

Finnian glanced towards the now closed door. "Was that our guest?" He looked down at the ground. "I suppose I should get this red paint cleaned up before Sebastian sees, or he'll be really angry with me! At least I managed to move the furniture and this statue out of the way before the paint got on them."

"Ho, ho, ho," Tanaka chuckled from behind the couch.

Outside the room, Dumont began crawling backwards away from the door. He stopped crawling when he bumped into something. When he quickly turned around fearing the worst, he saw that he had run into Sebastian's legs, and Adalina was standing next to him with her arms behind her back.

"Oh, dear," Sebastian said with concern. "It appears that you decided to do some snooping. How rude of you. Strolling about someone else's manor is quite inconsiderate. And now you've seen things that were never meant for your eyes. I did warn you about such things, did I not?"

As Dumont looked up at Adalina, he realized that while she was making a barely noticeable smirk, it made her overall appearance all the more terrifying. How could someone who never made a peep strike such fear into his heart?

Dumont began backing away from them, sweat beginning to pour down his face. "I…I won't tell anyone! I promise! Just…just let me live, I beg of you!"

The two of them slowly followed him. "Honestly, I don't think anyone would believe you even if you did go telling someone what you saw. All the same, it may be best not to take any chances. Do you agree, Adalina?"

The head maid looked over at Sebastian and smirked a bit more. Only a bit, but it was enough to send a shiver down Dumont's spine.

"No, please don't!" Dumont begged. "I swear to you, I won't tell a soul what I've seen."

"Don't worry, Mr. Dumont, we believe you. However, I believe it goes without saying that your connection to Funtom Company has been terminated."

Adalina took out the papers that held Ciel's signature. Dumont's eyes widened as he checked his jacket pockets where the contract had previously been. How on earth had she gotten her hands on them?

The girl raised her eyebrows as she ripped the contract in half. Dumont noticeably winced at the sound of the ripping paper.

She then handed one half to Sebastian, and the two of them ripped up the contract to very small pieces as they continued to walk forward. Dumont stopped crawling away as they approached him. The two servants let the small pieces of the contract fall over him like snow.

Sebastian leaned down to him so that he was facing away from Adalina. "You should never underestimate Lord Phantomhive or his servants."

When Dumont turned to look at the terrifying butler, his heartbeat increased significantly when he saw that his eyes were glowing pink and his pupils had turned into slits like a cat's.

The Frenchman began screaming as he stood up and raced out of the manor.

"Such an impatient man," Sebastian remarked. "He didn't even wait for me to retrieve his coat and open the door for him."

Adalina looked up at him and smiled a little. Something about Sebastian always managed to petrify people, but she could never quite figure out what it was. It didn't really matter to her because as long as enemies of Ciel knew that Ciel and his servants were not to be trifled with, he could do whatever he wanted.

She always admired how well he could fix any and every situation that occurred in and out of Phantomhive Manor. He really was an able butler. In fact, he was the best butler she had ever seen.

"Adalina, would you please prepare a bath for the young master? And sweep up these bits of paper. We can't have the mansion untidy. I'll inform the young master that he will be needing to replace the entire staff at the French branch of the company before giving him his bath. You and the other servants are free to retire for the evening."

Adalina curtseyed before going to complete her tasks.

Just another day at Phantomhive Manor.


	2. Chapter 2

"What is the problem now?" Ciel grumbled as he heard his servants running about and shouting at the top of their lungs outside the dining room.

"I shall see to it right away, my lord," Sebastian answered.

The butler and the head maid quickly exited the room to find the other servants running all over the place with various cleaning utensils in hand.

"What on earth are you all doing?" Sebastian asked them.

Two of the three servants halted in their tracks and stood before him.

"We're just tidying up a bit," Finnian told him. "We thought we'd try to do our best to make the young master happy today!"

"Well, as much as I commend your efforts, it appears you are making a bit more of a mess than cleaning things up."

Sebastian eyed the dirt Finnian had tracked into the manor from the gardens and the soap trail left on the carpet from Mey-Rin cleaning the clothes.

He sighed a little as he counted down with his fingers. "Three…two…one…"

Sure enough, an explosion shook the manor that could only have come from one person.

"I've got it!" Baldroy's voice yelled from the kitchen.

"Honestly, I don't understand how you three can be so adept at one thing and so utterly useless at everything else!"

"Ho, ho, ho," Tanaka laughed as he sipped his tea.

"Don't worry, Sebastian!" Mey-Rin said, hoping that he didn't notice her reddening cheeks. "We'll clean this up, and then we'll get right back to cleaning up the manor, yes we will!"

Adalina looked up at Sebastian as Finnian and Mey-Rin took off again.

Sebastian smirked a little. "They mean well, I suppose."

Ciel came out of the dining room. "I'm going up to my study for a bit of quiet before lessons. Adalina, accompany me in case I am in need of anything."

Adalina curtseyed and followed her young master up to where he would retreat to his place of solitude. Like Sebastian, Ciel often enjoyed having Adalina in the room with him because he could work in complete silence yet still feel protected while he worked. Adalina was no Sebastian, but she could certainly defend him and herself well enough for the most part.

Once they reached Ciel's study, Adalina opened the door to allow him to enter first before she followed him inside.

Just as Adalina was going to close the door behind them, she suddenly felt a sharp pain on the back of her head, and her vision began to go fuzzy. The last thing she saw was two hands grabbing Ciel and tossing a rag over his mouth.

* * *

Adalina could hear her heart pounding in her ears as her senses slowly began to return to her. She forced her eyes open and saw that she was in an unfamiliar room. Her hands were tied behind her, and her feet were bound as well. Recalling the last thing she had seen before she blacked out, she frantically looked around for Ciel. The quick motion made her head start pounding even more.

Her young master was tied up as well not far away from her. He had blood running down his face, and his clothes and hair were in complete disarray.

"Why did you bring her here?!" a familiar voice shouted.

"Sorry, sir!" another answered. "She came in the room with the kid, and we didn't know what else to do with her!"

"You could've just left her there!"

"We were worried she'd wake up too soon and alert the rest of the house before we could get out!"

The first man groaned loudly in annoyance. "Well, maybe this'll bring the butler here sooner. First we'll take care of him, then we'll take care of the little brat and the girl."

As Adalina's vision finally cleared, she glanced over to where she heard the voices coming from. To her surprise, the familiar one belonged to Dumont!

She knew he had been angry about being fired from Funtom, but he really had brought all that on himself. She never expected him to go this far.

"Adalina," Ciel said quietly. "My sincere apologies. You should not have been caught up in all this."

Adalina didn't care about herself. She just wanted to get free so she could protect her young master. She had never felt so utterly useless.

"I see you're finally awake," Dumont sneered at Adalina. "You weren't really part of the plan, but I guess all plans go awry sometimes. No matter. You won't be alive long enough to care."

"Mr. Dumont, I would ask that you not speak to my servant," Ciel said calmly to the man. "Your business is with me."

"Shut it, you brat!" Dumont yelled. "This'll show you for messing with me and costing me everything I've ever worked for! You think you can just fire me and throw away all the work I've done for you?! I put up working for a little brat for too long!"

Dumont began mercilessly kicking and punching the young boy. Adalina turned away, unable to look at her young master being so abused when there was nothing she could do about it. She felt like such an awful servant. Sebastian had hired her to protect Ciel, and yet here she was letting him get beaten up. She wouldn't be surprised if Ciel and Sebastian kicked her out of the manor once this was all over.

Once Dumont finished with Ciel, he came over to Adalina and grasped her face firmly in his hand, his nails digging into her cheeks. She stared up at him with pure malice in her eyes.

"Why don't you and I have a little…fun together? With a body like yours, I'm sure you'll give me lots of pleasure."

Adalina's breathing quickened. This man was sicker than she had thought.

"Sebastian, this is an order," Ciel said firmly. "Come get us right now."

"Your butler isn't even here!" Dumont barked.

No sooner had the words left his lips when there was a calm knock on the door.

"Huh?"

Adalina's eyes widened as none other than Sebastian opened the door and walked into the room. Surely it was just coincidence that Ciel's order had coincided with his entrance.

"Ah, Mr. Dumont, you're the one who has taken my young master and our head maid," Sebastian said with a calm smile. "I believe you've caused us more trouble than you're worth. Perhaps we should've taken care of you when you visited us at the manor."

"I kept my promise, demon. I haven't told anyone the truth about what I saw at the manor that night. But I never said anything about not killing you!"

Adalina flinched as the man pulled out a gun and shot Sebastian several times right in the chest. There was no way he had survived that. He may have been an amazing butler, but no one could survive that many bullet wounds especially at such a close range.

So she was more than shocked when Sebastian simply held up his hands with seven bullets between his fingers.

"Oh, honestly, I would think that after seeing who I really am, you would get more creative in your attempts to end my life. Humans always seem to lack imagination."

Dumont began sweating as his trembling hand aimed the gun at Ciel. "Maybe I can't kill you, but I can kill the one you serve!"

"I would advise against that."

"Well, what about the girl? Surely you care about her as well."

"I would never have hired her if I did not see her worth. However, I do care more about my young master's life. You see, I am indebted to him until he fulfills his part of the contract."

"What if I were to end his life? That would take him away from you, wouldn't it?"

"Oh, on the contrary. He would still be of use to me, but it would so much more unsatisfying and not nearly as filling."

"Whatever it takes to cause you pain."

Dumont fired the gun in Ciel's direction, but nothing happened. To the Frenchman's shock, Sebastian was next to Ciel in the blink of an eye holding another bullet.

"After seeing what happened when you shot me, you still went for it? I don't think I've ever seen such a desperate human."

Dumont began backing away towards the door. However, before he could exit the room, the doors slammed shut behind him. He tried the knob, but the doors would not open for him.

Adalina's heart skipped several beats when she saw Sebastian's eyes begin to glow pink and his face take on a very terrifying demeanor. She had never seen him like this the entire time she had known him. She quickly understood why Ciel's enemies ran screaming away from him.

"Mr. Dumont, I was very gracious to let you leave Phantomhive Manor with your life. But you have proven that your existence is a threat to my young master's safety, and I cannot have such problems interfering in our business. Furthermore, to threaten the life of a mute is rather heartless, wouldn't you agree? Therefore, there is only one solution."

The room began to darken as Dumont's eyes widened in utter fear. Adalina watched in horror as Sebastian began to change. He slowly walked towards the Frenchman, his appearance changing more with every step as black feathers fell from his menacing form.

Before his transformation could complete, she closed her eyes and turned her head as she heard the agonizing screams of Mr. Dumont next to her. She could only listen with terror as the man's life ended.

Moments passed by, but her eyes remained tightly closed, afraid of what she might see if she opened them again.

"Adalina."

Adalina opened her eyes to find Sebastian kneeling down right in front of her. Fearing for her life after what had just occurred, she quickly began backing away from him as fast as she could while she was still bound. When she hit the wall, she realized she could escape from him no further. A small whimper escaped from her lips, and it was one of the rare times she ever made a sound.

"Adalina," Sebastian said gently. "We have worked together for over two years now, and I have never once harmed you, have I?"

Adalina just continued to stare up at him in fear.

"Nothing has changed. Unless my master orders it, I promise I will not ever harm you."

Adalina looked over at a freed Ciel who was just watching the confrontation with mild interest. After a tense minute, Adalina slowly turned around so Sebastian could untie her hands. She tensed up when she felt his hands touch her own as he undid the ropes. Once she was free, she went to work on the ropes tying her feet.

When Sebastian saw her hands trembling fiercely, he reached down to help her. However, the moment his hands touched hers, she quickly jerked them away.

"I only wish to help free you," he told her.

He finished untying her bindings around her ankles before offering her a hand to help her stand up. He wasn't surprised when she didn't take it and stood up on her own.

"There is a carriage awaiting outside, my lord," Sebastian said to Ciel. "It will take you both back to the manor where I will have a lovely dinner and a hot bath prepared."

"That's fine," Ciel said dismissively. "And while you're at it, prepare something sweet. I think I'd fancy something with chocolate."

"Yes, my young lord."

Sebastian led Ciel and Adalina out of the house where they had been held captive and out to the carriage. Adalina sat inside with Ciel while Sebastian drove the carriage along the path.

"Adalina," Ciel said to his head maid. "I would like to apologize again for the grief you have suffered this afternoon. Now that you know Sebastian's true identity, I must ask that you continue to keep it a secret from the other servants. I'm sure you can understand that it's better they be left in the dark."

Adalina nodded, but she knew that nightmares of what she had just witnessed were going to haunt her for days to come.


	3. Chapter 3

It wasn't hard to notice a change in Adalina. As Ciel took his breakfast, he saw that she was standing a good distance away from Sebastian and refused to look at him. Though she tried to hide it, he could see her fidgeting with her hands nervously and her whole body tense up whenever Sebastian moved a bit closer to her.

He couldn't really say he blamed her. Sebastian turning into his true form was a rather terrifying experience, especially if one had previously believed him to be human. He could only imagine how the other servants would react if they found out the truth.

At first, he had wondered what Sebastian had seen in her that made him hire her as a Phantomhive servant. After all, she was far from the assassin Mey-Rin and Baldroy were, and she didn't have any supernatural abilities like Finnian. But as the weeks passed by, he understood. Though Adalina never spoke, she was very adept at her job and did everything she was asked without hesitation. He never once questioned her loyalty towards him and knew full well that if it came down to it, she would do whatever it took to protect him. It helped that she worked well with Sebastian and the butler actually welcomed her company which was a rare occurrence.

However, with her newfound knowledge of what Sebastian really was, she would not stand within two feet of him.

Her behavior continued over the course of the next few days and all of the servants noticed. They believed her behavior to simply be because of the trauma of being kidnapped, but they had no idea what the real reason for her terror was.

Sebastian watched her curiously as they worked. Even when he ordered her to work with him on dinner or help him clean around the manor, she kept her distance and went out of her way to make sure they never touched.

While he couldn't read minds, Sebastian could always sense how another person was feeling. He used that ability on Adalina on multiple occasions as it was the only way he could gain any kind of information on her. After all, with no words or even facial expressions coming from her, he had little to go on. By sensing her emotions, he could usually guess what she was thinking or what she desired.

When he sensed her now, all he could feel was how scared she was to be near him.

He had honestly never intended for her to find out his true identity, but desperate times did call for desperate measures. His master's safety came first and any repercussions would have to be dealt with later. He was usually pretty good at dealing with those. After all, if he couldn't handle a few mishaps whilst protecting his master, then what kind of butler would he be?

This was a big repercussion. If he and Adalina did not start working together like they had previously, things might quickly spiral out of control, and that was one thing he could not allow. He had to do something to make her realize that he had no ill intentions towards her. And he believed he knew just how to do it…

* * *

As Adalina exited one of the rooms in the manor and shut the door behind her, her heart began to speed up again like it always did once nighttime approached. In the dark, Sebastian could easily blend in with his surroundings and come after her if he wanted.

A part of her still believed that because she now knew that he was really a demon, he would kill her so she couldn't tell anyone. The other part of her believed him when he said he wouldn't harm her. However, she kept thinking about the other part of that sentence. He wouldn't harm her unless his master ordered it. What was to stop Ciel from ordering him to kill her? What if one day, he believed her to be too much trouble and just decided to be done with her? She didn't doubt he could come up with a brilliant story to explain her untimely death to the servants.

So many questions had been answered as to why Sebastian seemed like the perfect butler who did things that seemed impossible and how no one could ever truly explain where he had come from. Though now that she had learned the truth, she direly wished that she had just been kept in the dark about it all. Ignorance really was bliss.

If he truly was a demon, then that must mean he had made a contract with Ciel. Which meant that when all of this was over, Sebastian was going to eat his soul. The thought sent another shiver down her spine. Could Sebastian eat her soul even though she didn't have a contract with him? Could he just eat the soul of whoever he wanted? If that was the case, then surely he wouldn't make contracts with humans.

Then again, perhaps a contract was just a formality, and he didn't really need one. Maybe he was going to devour the souls of all those who resided at Phantomhive Manor once his contract with Ciel was complete. Perhaps that was why he had been so nice to her all this time. It was all just a ruse to get her to trust him before he devoured her soul.

"Adalina."

Adalina tensed up significantly when Sebastian appeared at the other end of the hall and began walking towards her.

"I notice you've been rather tense lately. I can imagine why. You went through quite an ordeal several days ago, and I'm sure that it's made you quite nervous for several reasons."

Adalina slowly took a few small steps backwards, trying to put some distance between her and Sebastian. However, it was useless. He was too quick for her.

Before she knew it, his hand was touching her face, his gloved thumb tracing her jawline. Her breathing quickened, unsure of what exactly he was doing to her. His hand moved to stroke her cheek and fondle her hair.

"You really are a beautiful woman, Adalina. Perhaps I might help…lessen the tension you are feeling. Just for a little while to calm you. A night of pleasure after all you have been through would be nice, would it not?"

As Sebastian came closer to her, Adalina took a step back. The more he came towards her, the more she stepped away from him. No matter what she did, his hand never left her face. His other hand came up to her neck and undid the first few buttons on the back of her dress. Then his hand moved to her shoulder and gently pushed the material away to uncover her creamy skin.

"Such perfect skin," Sebastian murmured as his lips pressed to her exposed flesh. "You are a gift to mortal men."

By now, Adalina realized that he had backed her into one of the spare bedrooms in the manor. Her heart was racing as she put together what his intentions were. And she was powerless to stop him.

Sebastian grabbed her right arm and flung her down onto the bed behind her. His other hand traveled to her neck and shoulders while his arm kept her pinned down as he firmly grasped her wrist. He continued to caress her skin and hair as he climbed on top of her.

Tears filled her eyes as she turned her head away. She didn't want this. She didn't want any part of it, demon or not. But she knew that a weak human like her didn't stand a chance against a powerful demon like him. If she did resist, he would probably just hurt her more. He could do whatever he wanted to her, and there wasn't a thing she could do about it. She couldn't even cry out for help, though she couldn't say for sure if Ciel would stop him or not even if she could. Was this her punishment for not defending him when they had been abducted?

Her eyes opened when she realized that all of Sebastian's movement had stopped. She looked up at him to find his eyes…surprised. He slowly released her arm and got off the bed.

"My apologies," he said as he put his hand to his chest.

He quickly strutted out of the room before Adalina could completely process what he had just said.

The young woman sat up and took heaving breaths as she tried to understand what had brought on the sudden display of affection.

Her dress had come clean off her shoulders but fortunately did not reveal anything extremely indecent, and her hair was in disarray from Sebastian running his fingers through it and then falling on the bed.

Pressing her dress above her chest in order to keep it from falling further, she quickly ran to her room as fast as she could before any of the other servants, or worse Ciel, saw her. The last thing she wanted at the moment was for them to see her in such an improper state, especially since she wouldn't be able to explain herself.

Once she finally made it to the quarters reserved for the head maid, she shut the door and tried to regain her breathing once more.

She still didn't know why on earth Sebastian had acted the way he did with her.

At first, she believed it to be a punishment for her, but if that was the case…then why did he stop?

* * *

"You did what?!" Ciel exclaimed the next morning.

"Human females usually seem to be rather attracted to me," Sebastian answered calmly. "I thought that such may be the same in Adalina's case."

"She's utterly terrified of you, and your idea of mending the situation is to attempt to seduce her?"

"Poor judgment on my part, my lord."

"That was more than poor judgment. That was utter stupidity." Ciel groaned as he put his hand to his temple. "Fix this, and fix it soon."

Sebastian gave a polite bow. "Certainly, my young lord."

* * *

"Adalina," Ciel said to his head maid in his study. "I would like you to take one of our carriages and go into town to fetch some books I have waiting for me at the shop. Just give them this note from me and they should let you pick them up without me."

Adalina curtseyed as Ciel quickly scrawled a messy note on a piece of paper. Then she left the room to do what her master had ordered her to do.

Ciel sighed as he watched the young woman leave the room. He thought it would be good for her to get some time away from Sebastian, even if only for an hour or two. She had clearly been even more on edge ever since Sebastian's little…plan went south.

That demon was too cocky for his own good. Even Ciel knew that Adalina wouldn't respond to any sorts of affection from the butler. Unlike nearly every other woman he had come in contact with, Adalina showed no signs of attraction towards Sebastian. They may have gotten along well, but not in the romantic sense. Perhaps that had something to do with whatever had happened to her to make her a mute.

Adalina breathed out a puff of air as she sat in one of the many Phantomhive carriages. It was nice to be away from Sebastian for a while. Ever since that night, he had barely even made eye contact with her. She still didn't understand why he had stopped his advances all of a sudden and apologized to her. It wasn't a very demon-like thing to do.

The carriage came to a stop a bit of a way from where the bookstore was. Adalina disembarked and made her way over to the shop. A small bell rang when she opened the door.

"What can I do for you today, ma'am?" an older gentleman said from behind the desk.

Adalina timidly presented him with the note Ciel had given her.

"You work for Earl Phantomhive, do you? Well, lucky for him, his package just arrived last week. I'll go fetch it for you, all right?"

The young woman nodded politely, and the man disappeared into the back of the store.

Adalina didn't notice the pairs of eyes watching her and the whispers exchanged from outside as she waited for the man to return.

"Here you are," the man said, presenting Adalina with a small package. "A package for Ciel Phantomhive. Have a nice day, and be careful out there, okay?"

Adalina nodded again as she took the contents out of the package and left the store with the three books in her hand.

The eyes that had been watching her saw her leave the store. The two men the eyes belonged to made their way over to her.

"Hello, miss," one of them said as he stepped in front of her. "I was wondering if you might direct me to the toy store. You see, I'm supposed to be finding something for my little sister, and something tells me you might know what I should get her."

Adalina looked down towards the ground and didn't reply.

"What's the matter? Can't you speak?"

She took a small step back, but she ended up running into someone.

"We won't bite," the other man said as he put his hands on her shoulders. "You can talk to us."

When Adalina tried to move forward, the first man blocked her path. "Look, hon, it won't take long, I promise." Adalina still didn't say anything as she looked away from him. The man in front of her looked at the one behind her. "I don't think she can speak at all."

"That might bring down her price a bit."

"Maybe, but she's got a pretty face. Better than some of the ones I've seen. She'll be worth a good bit."

The two men quickly ushered Adalina towards their carriage, and she was unable to cry out for help.


	4. Chapter 4

Ciel paced around in his study. "Why isn't she back yet?" he demanded.

"I am not sure, my lord. Perhaps she got distracted by some of the other stores. It is rare she gets to go into town."

"It's unlike her to do something like this. I've never known her to be distracted by anything. The town isn't far away. She should've been back at least three hours ago."

"Shall I go look for her?"

"Yes. Start by the bookstore where she was retrieving the package and see what you can find."

"Yes, my young lord."

Sebastian took off outside the manor and was in town in no time flat. He tried to sense Adalina, but she was not in the vicinity. That struck him as odd. Even if she did get distracted by something, he should still be able to sense her. As the butler made his way down the streets, something caught his eye.

He knelt down and picked up three books that had been tossed to the curb. Then he quickly returned to his young master's study.

"I found these a few feet away from the bookstore. They are relatively new, but it's clear they have been on the sidewalk for quite a while."

Ciel took the books from Sebastian. "These were the books I ordered her to fetch for me. Something must have happened to her. Sebastian, this is an order. Find Adalina and bring her back safely."

Sebastian bowed as he placed his hand on his chest. "Yes, my young lord."

While Sebastian didn't want Adalina to be put in such a dire situation (after all, it created more work for him), he could very well use this to his advantage. Tonight would be the night that he finally got things back to the way they were.

* * *

Adalina opened her eyes but saw nothing. As the effects of the knockout drug the two strangers had given her in the carriage wore off, her heart began to hammer in her chest as she tried to figure out what was going on. She realized that she was blindfolded and her hands were tied in front of her. On her back, she felt cold steel bars and guessed she had been put in some kind of cage.

"Our last item of the day!" a male's voice said near her. "Our finest one yet. A right pretty young girl with a perfect slender body. She is a mute, but to some, that might be a desired trait. We shall start off the bidding at £2,000."

Bidding?

She was in an auction. She was to be sold, and from the sound of it, the buyer was looking to buy women for prostitution. Tears escaped from the confines of the blindfold and ran down her cheeks at the idea of what the man who bought her was going to do to her.

Ciel must know she was gone by now. But did he even care? Perhaps it was his plan all along for her to go to town alone so that something would happen to her and his secret would be safe without him having to dirty his own hands.

"£2,500!" someone in the audience in front of her shouted.

"4,000!"

"5,000!"

"5,000 going once!" the auctioneer called out. "Going twice!"

'Sold' was never said. Instead, Adalina flinched as she heard various people crying out in surprise and pain. Angry and panicked shouts filled the room.

"What is that thing?!" she heard someone yell.

She could make out thuds and more screams and then suddenly…all was quiet. All she could hear was her own ragged breathing. Soft footsteps made their way towards her. Then her blindfold was taken down off her eyes. Once her eyes adjusted to the new light, her breath hitched in her throat when she saw Sebastian's face in front of her. Her body tensed up as she tried to back away, but seeing as she was indeed in a cage, there was nowhere for her to go.

However, in the back of her mind, she couldn't help but feel relief. He had come for her.

Sebastian knelt down so that he was at eye level with her. "Adalina," he said gently. "I would truly like to apologize for my actions a few nights ago. I want you to understand that I do not intend to harm you. I would not have hired you to work at the manor if my intentions were anything but the safety of my master. I realize that I have frightened you terribly, and I am sorry for that. You were not meant to ever find out who I really am simply because the master and I knew how you would react. Your reaction is only natural to finding out such news in the way that you did. Please understand that I will do what I can to protect you for as long as I serve my master."

Adalina didn't know if he was using his demon powers or if he was being sincere, but for some reason, she believed what he said. She slowly held her arms out towards him and with a flick of his finger, the ropes came undone and fell from her wrists.

"You may not believe this coming from me, but you can trust me. After all, contrary to popular opinion, I never lie."

Sebastian stood up and extended his hand. For the first time in nearly two weeks, Adalina made contact with him and took his outstretched hand. He gently helped her up off the floor. Then he hopped out of the top of the cage and stood on one of the bars on the top. He took Adalina's hand and hefted her up so that she was standing on the bar across from him. His hands remained on her waist in order to help her keep her balance.

"I'm afraid I was in a hurry to find you before something happened to you, so I don't have a carriage prepared. I do hope you're not terribly afraid of heights."

Before Adalina could figure out what he meant, Sebastian quickly pulled her up into his arms and shot through the skylight above them. The young woman clung to him as he landed on the roof of the building and began sprinting across it, flying over the London rooftops.

Adalina wanted to scream, but she had no voice to do so. So instead, she shielded her face by leaning into Sebastian's neck and tightened her arms around him even more. She thought for sure she heard him chuckle, but she couldn't be sure over the loud wind in her ears.

Finally, the loud noise stopped, and they ceased moving.

"You may open your eyes now," Sebastian said.

Adalina did so and found that they were in front of Phantomhive Manor.

"That wasn't so bad now, was it?"

Sebastian set Adalina down on the ground, and the two servants walked into the manor.

"Adalina!" Finnian cried as he threw his arms around her. "I'm so glad you're okay!"

"We were so worried, yes, we were!" Mey-Rin sobbed.

"You're not hurt, are you?"

Adalina shook her head, a barely noticeable smile crossing her face. She was touched that the other servants had been so worried about her disappearance. Sometimes she forgot that despite the fact that they were perfectly awful at their jobs, they did have good hearts.

"You hungry?" Baldroy asked. "I've still got some dinner left over."

"I think it would be better if she had something fresh," Sebastian told the cook, knowing that there was no way he had made anything edible. He looked over at Adalina. "I will go and make something for you, and you should go let the young master know that we have returned."

Adalina nodded once and headed up to Ciel's study. She softly knocked on the door.

"It's open," Ciel called.

She slowly entered the room and stood before Ciel's desk where he was sorting through some paperwork.

"Adalina," he stated when he looked up. He got up from behind the desk and came around to the front of it. "I'm glad to see you're all right. I apologize for you getting caught up in such a situation. Are you well?"

Adalina nodded.

"Good. Get something to eat and rest for the remainder of the night. And one more thing. I'm well aware you have been nervous about being near Sebastian. Hopefully, tonight's events have changed your opinion of him at least a little. But I know that you have also been concerned about how I am reacting to you finding out the truth. To be honest, I don't really care so long as you keep it a secret. I don't think I have to worry about that. I am not angry with you, and I still value you as a Phantomhive servant. I swear to you on the Phantomhive name that I will never order Sebastian to harm you."

Adalina knew how important the Phantomhive name was to Ciel, so she did not take his promise lightly. She politely curtseyed before she exited the room and headed down to the kitchen.

"Here you are," Sebastian smiled as he presented her with a plate of food. "I put some extra care into this. You deserve it after what you have been through in the past two weeks. I will prepare a bath for you and then you are free to retire for the night. We shall have a busy day tomorrow."

Adalina furrowed her brow. Sebastian usually didn't say that to her seeing that even with their workload, it usually wasn't all _that_ busy of a day.

Noticing her look, he added, "I think it is time we taught you how to properly defend yourself. You are a Phantomhive servant after all, and I cannot be worrying about your safety every second of the day. That concern is to be placed solely on my master. So starting tomorrow in between chores while the young master takes his lessons, I will be teaching you proper sword-fighting. If time allows later on, I will teach you other ways to defend yourself, but we will just start with that. Until then."

Sebastian left the kitchen and Adalina let out a sigh.

This was certainly going to be interesting.

* * *

"Now we have approximately an hour before the master's lesson is completed," Sebastian said once he and Adalina were in one of the ballrooms. "We shall start with foils so no one gets injured. Once I believe you have mastered these, we shall move on to using actual swords."

Adalina held her foil in front of her, unsure of what she was supposed to do. She had watched Ciel use one multiple times when he had fencing lessons, but actually using one was something else entirely.

"To start off, you must get into the proper position. Left foot forward, feet shoulder length apart."

Adalina followed his instructions.

"Let's start with some blocks. Simply try to block my attacks. I'll go slowly."

Sebastian lunged forward, and Adalina quickly pulled up her foil so she could block his foil from hitting her.

"Good. Try to analyze my movements so you are prepared to know where I am going to strike."

Adalina focused on every single twitch Sebastian made, and in the end, she managed to block many of his attacks. Several times he had hit her arm or leg, but for a beginner, she was doing fairly well.

For what felt like a day, Sebastian helped Adalina learn blocking and striking with her foil. By the end of their session, she had learned a good deal, but she still had a very long way to go.

"Oh, dear, it appears our hour is over. Keep practicing, and I shall teach you more tomorrow."

Adalina nodded once to show her appreciation.

Sebastian could sense how grateful she was that he was teaching her this new skill. She was certainly going to need it. Now that she knew he was a demon, he planned on having her accompany him and his young master on more of their missions. The three other servants could protect the manor while she could protect the young master when he was not around to do so. He would feel much better with another pair of eyes to watch over his master.


	5. Chapter 5

A loud pounding sounded on the manor door. Sebastian quickly went to go answer it before whoever was on the other side broke the whole door down. That would be added work for him that he didn't care to do.

When he opened the door, three large-muscled men burst inside. He frowned at their complete lack of decorum. One should never enter a manor unless invited in.

"All right, where is she?" one of them demanded in a thick Cockney accent. "We know she's here."

"Who might you be referring to?" the butler asked.

"You know who I'm talkin' about! We tracked her down to this place."

Ciel appeared at the top of the stairs having heard all the noise from all the way upstairs. "Sebastian, what seems to be the problem?"

"It appears these men are looking for someone at the manor," Sebastian answered.

" _You're_ Earl Phantomhive?" another man asked in disbelief, a wide smirk on his face. "How old are you, 10?"

Ciel glared at the three intruders, not appreciating being called younger than he really was. "What is your business here?"

At that moment, Adalina walked into the foyer to see what the commotion was about.

Immediately, Sebastian sensed her immense fear and worry. When he looked over at her, her eyes were wide and her breathing came in short gasps. It was clear she knew these men and for whatever reason, she was terrified of them.

"Oh, there she is," one of the men sneered. "Told you she was here. We'll be takin' her back now."

"I'm afraid not," Sebastian said politely. "She is now a servant of Phantomhive Manor and is of great importance to my young master."

"Tough luck, my friend. She's our property. She rightfully belongs to us."

"Do you have proof of this ownership?"

"Well…no, but that don't mean she ain't ours! The fact that we were able to track her down should be proof enough! Now hand her over."

Adalina backed away from them, her eyes widening even more in terror. She met eyes with Sebastian, silently begging him to do something. Anything to make sure that she didn't have to go back with them.

Ciel glanced at his head maid. He hadn't seen her this scared even when she had learned the truth of Sebastian. He deduced that these men had something to do with her muteness. Why else would she be so terrified of them?

Whoever they were, they needed to be dealt with. He couldn't have someone hired to protect him this frightened over something that could easily be remedied. They had finally fixed the whole Sebastian problem, and he was not one for moving two steps back.

"Adalina, go to your room," he ordered. Adalina looked up at him in protest. She took a step forward, but he added firmly, "Now."

Not daring to refuse her master, Adalina politely curtseyed and returned to her quarters.

"Hey!" one of the three men yelled. "You can't order her about. That's our job."

"I think you'll find that I do not tolerate that which makes my servants afraid. As Phantomhive servants, they are expected to be able to protect me and this manor with their lives. They cannot do their job if they are distracted by their fears."

"Yeah, and what are you gonna do about it, pipsqueak? Go cry to dead mummy and daddy?"

Ciel glared at them even more fiercely. That man had no idea what he had just done. "Enough of this. Sebastian, this is an order. Kill them."

Sebastian's eyes glowed pink. "Yes, my young lord."

The room began to darken.

Inside the head maid's quarters, Adalina sat in a ball in the corner with her eyes squeezed shut and her hands covering her ears to block out the agonizing screams from inside the foyer.

How had those men even managed to find her? She never thought that those men would be able to find her here much less attempt to take her back with them. She had just always assumed them to be dead or thought that they had believed her to be too much trouble to seek out after she had escaped.

Two hands touched her own, and she flinched as she opened her eyes. She found herself looking into the crimson eyes of Sebastian. He gently pulled her hands away from her ears.

"There is no need to worry, Adalina," he said in a tender voice. "They will not hurt you ever again."

Adalina had a pretty good idea of what he had done, but she didn't have any desire to know the details.

Sebastian helped her up off the floor. "Adalina…" he started cautiously. "If it is all right with you, I would like to understand what happened to you and why you were so afraid of those men."

Adalina looked away from him.

"You will not have to say anything. I'll be able to see it."

The young woman looked back up at him. If she was being honest, it would be nice to have someone know what she had gone through and understand why she never spoke. And for reasons she couldn't fully explain, she did trust Sebastian. She wondered if she was being foolish for trusting a demon, but he had yet to give her any reason not to trust him.

She slowly nodded her head.

Sebastian removed his gloves, and Adalina let out a small gasp when she saw his black nails and the purple design on the back of his left hand.

"Do not let this worry you," Sebastian told her. "It is simply proof of the contract with my master. I need you to take my hands."

Adalina hesitated for a moment, questioning if she should really go through with his plan, and then slowly put her hands into Sebastian's awaiting palms.

"Close your eyes."

She did so.

"Now think about what happened to you in the past. Why were you so afraid of those men? Why do you no longer speak?"

Adalina grimaced as her head began to hurt a little. She forced herself to think about all of the horrid things she had endured in the past several years before coming to work at Phantomhive Manor.

Sebastian's eyes glowed bright pink as he began to see flashes of various images of Adalina's life.

* * *

 _A teenage Adalina peeked out of her room in the very small house she lived in. Big intimidating men stood at the door, one of them holding her father's shirt in his fist._

 _"_ _Where's the money you owe me?" he growled._

 _"_ _I…I just need a bit more time," her father stammered. "Just a little more time, and I'll have everything."_

 _"_ _You've had enough time. Get me my money by tomorrow."_

 _"_ _That's…That's not enough time. Please…"_

 _"_ _Well, you should've thought of that before you gambled it all away to me. I'll be here tomorrow, and if I don't get my money, you won't live to see another day."_

 _The scary man released her father and stormed off. Her father sighed heavily as he leaned against the door._

* * *

 _The teenage Adalina backed against the wall of her home terror-stricken._

 _The previous men barged into her rooms, knives and switchblades drawn._

 _"_ _Where's my money?" the biggest and scariest one demanded. "Where is it?!"_

 _"_ _Please, just give me a few more days! I'll get everything to you, I promise."_

 _"_ _Sorry, mate, I've waited long enough."_

 _The man raised his knife above his head and brought it down. Blood spattered onto the floors and walls. Adalina flinched, and her mouth dropped open in horror._

 _"_ _NO!" her mother screamed in hysterics, leaning over her father's lifeless corpse. "No, no, no! How could you?!"_

 _"_ _SHUT UP!" the man yelled._

 _He didn't even raise his weapon as he ended her mother's life. More blood soaked the floor, intermingling with her father's blood. Some of it got onto Adalina's face and dress._

 _The reality of the situation hit her all at once, and she broke down onto the floor in sobs and screams._

 _All of the men came over to her, and she closed her eyes as she prepared for them to kill her as well. But instead, one of them grasped her hair in his hand and pulled her head up so they could see her face, multiple tears streaming down her cheeks._

 _"_ _What do you think, lads?" he smirked. "Think she'd work for us?"_

 _"_ _Can't be too bad," another answered. "We'll add her with the rest."_

 _The man painfully yanked her up off the floor by her hair and forced her out to the wagon they had arrived in. One man got in front and drove the wagon while two remained in the back with Adalina to make sure she didn't try to escape._

* * *

 _Adalina shivered and huddled together with several other teenage girls. All of them were dirty and starved and had thin clothing on that covered less of their bodies than half of the prostitutes on the streets. There were only two thin and worn blankets in the room that only covered about three girls if stretched far enough. That left many other girls with nothing to warm themselves with other than the small fire that lit the room._

* * *

 _Adalina gave her small food portion to a girl who looked very, very ill and feverish. Death was not far behind for this girl._

 _Though Adalina's stomach began to growl and a sharp pain hit her from the lack of food, she ignored it and continued to feed the sick girl. Then she took one of the worn blankets and draped it over her. The girl let out a hoarse cough and continued to shiver._

* * *

 _Adalina and another black-haired girl served the owners of the household: the men who had come to her home and taken her away._

 _The girl served the men a platter of food._

 _"_ _Away with you now," one of them said as he waved his hand dismissively._

 _"_ _Yes, sir," the girl answered quietly._

 _Without any hesitation, the man stood up and hit her forcefully on the cheek so hard, she went tumbling to the ground._

 _"_ _What did I tell you about talkin' back?!"_

 _"_ _I'm…I'm sorry, sir."_

 _"_ _SHUT IT! I warned you that you were not to speak while in our presence!"_

 _The man began kicking the girl forcefully over and over again. Adalina could only watch for a few seconds before she stepped in and threw herself over the poor girl in an attempt to stop the abuse._

 _"_ _Out of the way!"_

 _He kicked Adalina in the stomach and face to get her to move. Other men grabbed her arms and hauled her away. Meanwhile, the black-haired girl continued to be beaten._

* * *

 _Adalina took out a cold cloth she had managed to swipe while working in the kitchen earlier and placed it on the black-haired girl's face where multiple cuts and bruises rested from the prior beating._

 _"_ _Thank you, Adalina," the girl said softly, her voice extremely scratchy by now._

 _Adalina gave a small smile and nodded. She continued to gently press the cloth to the bruises to provide temporary relief from her injuries._

 _If she was lucky, she would get called to the kitchen again tomorrow and could swipe more cloths to care for the other injured girls in the room with her._

* * *

 _Two men grabbed Adalina and forced her to stand in the corner of the main room. Then they ripped the back of her clothes open. They didn't fall from her chest, but the whole of her back was exposed._

 _"Maybe this'll teach you," one man smirked as he held a whip in his hands. "You can't steal from us and get off without punishment. What do you say, lads? Ten for stealing?"_

 _"Ten should be good," another laughed._

 _"Make any sound and you get two more."_

 _Adalina flinched as the whip grazed against her bare back. Her hands pressed against the two walls to brace herself. On the fifth lash, she let out a small whimper._

 _"Oh, you made a sound!" the man whipping her laughed. "That's two more!"_

 _Adalina felt the skin on her back break from the multiple lashes, but she did not let herself cry out._

 _The men's laughter surrounded her as she grimaced from the pain._

* * *

 _"_ _Adalina, don't do it!" a dirty blonde-haired girl said to the young woman. "You'll get caught, and they'll kill you!"_

 _Adalina looked at the young girl but didn't say anything._

 _"_ _We're back here. It's okay to talk now."_

 _Adalina still didn't say anything. Instead, she held her head high and marched out to where the awaiting man was to escort her to the main room._

 _"_ _Keep it moving!" he ordered as he pushed her forward._

 _When Adalina got into the main room, she looked at the small table where all the food and wine had been prepared by other girls. She made eye contact with one of the men in the room, and he sent her a small nod._

 _While no one was looking, Adalina took out a small vial of white powder from inside her clothing. She then quickly dumped parts of it into several of the drinks before tucking the vial back inside her clothes._

 _"_ _Hurry it up, will you?!" one the men yelled at her causing her to flinch._

 _Adalina brought the tray of drinks over to them. She served each man a glass…with the exception of one._

 _"_ _What are you waitin' for, New Years?! Bring the bloody food!"_

 _Adalina returned to the small table, but she did not grab any of the prepared meals. Instead, she slowly turned back around to see almost all of the men furiously blinking their drooping eyes._

 _"_ _What did you do, wench?"_

 _"_ _Wait a moment, why ain't you feelin' tired?" one of the men addressed the one who had not taken a glass of wine. "He's in on it! He's helpin' 'em!"_

 _"_ _I'll kill you!"_

 _Two of the men passed out, but the one who had managed to stay awake pulled out his knife. The alert man started running towards Adalina. Just as he got to her, his eyes widened. He fell against her, and the young woman saw the knife sticking out of his back._

 _"_ _Get out," he rasped. "Get out now. You can't worry about the others. Not yet. You'll have to come back for 'em. More guys are comin'. If you go back for 'em now, you won't make it in time, and they'll kill you. I'm so sorry."_

 _Adalina set him down on the ground and saw that all of the men were now unconscious. She raced over to the window and flung it open before jumping out. Then she ran as far away from the house as her bare feet would take her._

* * *

 _Adalina sighed. She wished there was some other way. Any other way. But there was nothing else she could do. Not if she wanted to survive._

 _Now that she couldn't even speak (or more accurately was too afraid to speak), she couldn't tell anyone that girls were being held captive by abusive owners. When she tried to do something, people took one look at her appearance, her ragged hair, and her revealing clothing, and did anything to get away from her._

 _Not that it mattered anymore. When she had returned to the house to try and sneak in and free the other girls, the whole place was abandoned. The men had disappeared, and she didn't have the faintest clue where they had gone. She should've tried to free them before she escaped. Even if other men did come, she was sure she could've helped at least a few of the girls get out._

 _But it was too late for any of that now._

 _She walked through a crowd of people, no one really paying much attention to her. If someone did, they looked at her and then tried to put as much space between them as possible._

 _While no one was looking, she swiped a necklace here, a ring there, or if she was lucky, she could grab a few coins. She was fast and swift and she could get really creative with the ways she managed to grab things. After all, she had had plenty of practice stealing things from the kitchen during her time in captivity._

 _No one ever noticed the poor homeless girl taking their possessions._

* * *

 _Adalina sat at the entrance of an alley with tears resting on her cheeks. She had nowhere to go. No one to go to. No reason to live anymore._

 _Some people tossed scraps and small coins her way, but most people just turned their faces away from her in disgust._

 _How had she ended up here? How had the last few years gone so wrong?_

 _She let out a large hoarse cough that hurt her whole body. She was getting sicker as the days passed by, and she didn't know how much longer she could go on. Had she escaped for nothing?_

 _She looked over to find a very handsome man dressed in a very nice suit. He must've been a butler to a noble. There was a chain to a pocket watch on his tailcoat. Surely a watch belonging to the butler of a noble would fetch a good price. Perhaps she could get something other than stale bread tonight._

 _Forcing herself to her feet, she discreetly followed the butler and tried to match his pace. It was difficult because he had much longer legs than she did, but she was used to that kind of problem. When he slowed down a little, she began to walk past him. Her hand reached up to the chain…_

 _Suddenly, her wrist was caught in a death grip._

 _She looked up and met the butler's eyes. They were a dark crimson color she had never seen before. It scared her._

 _She tried to wrench herself out of his iron grasp, but it was useless. He was far too strong for her, especially in her weakened state._

 _To her surprise, he didn't look angry. Instead, he was smirking._

 _"_ _I've noticed you are quite efficient when it comes to getting what you need," he said to her. "You have a sharp wit about you. It's a good skill when used appropriately."_

 _Why was he smiling and giving her compliments? Didn't he plan to arrest her now?_

 _"_ _I'd like to offer you a position."_

 _He was offering her a what? A position? Like…a job?_

 _"_ _You'll be paid well, and room and board as well as meals will be taken care of. However, stealing will not be tolerated."_

 _She was eager to accept his offer the moment she heard 'room and board'. Anything would be better than her current situation. And no stealing wouldn't be a problem. She only stole now because she didn't have any other option._

 _"_ _Can you understand what I'm saying?" the man asked when she didn't answer._

 _Adalina nodded a little._

 _"_ _Good. Do you accept my offer then? No experience is necessary."_

 _He released her wrist and held out his hand for her._

 _Adalina looked up at him again. She put her hand to her throat and then pressed her fingers to her lips before shaking her head._

 _"_ _Ah, I see. You do not speak."_

 _She looked away from him in shame. Now that he saw she didn't speak, she half-expected him to rescind his offer. Surely he wouldn't want a mute to work with him._

 _The man continued to smile. "I assure you…that won't be a problem."_

 _The offer was too good to resist. Room and board with pay? How could she pass up such a thing? She slowly took his outstretched hand, sealing the deal._

* * *

Adalina released Sebastian's hands as she took short breaths, her head pounding fiercely. Reliving all of that had been much more painful than she had expected.

She looked up at him, but she couldn't fully understand the look on his face.

It made her nervous that he wasn't saying anything. Did what he saw change his opinion of her?

Feeling rather weak after reliving such a traumatic time in her life and the effect that sharing memories with a demon had on her, Adalina took off to go to another place in the manor where she could be free of Sebastian's presence until he gathered his thoughts again.

As Sebastian watched her go, he looked at his palms.

Why did he suddenly feel so strange?


	6. Chapter 6

"It appears Adalina's life was a bit darker than anticipated," Sebastian said to Ciel as he served him his tea.

"Why do you say that? Did she tell you?"

"No. I was able to see it for myself."

Sebastian explained what he had seen when he had connected with Adalina in order to share her memories. He conveniently left out the unusual feeling he'd had when she parted from him. He still couldn't explain that himself.

"Sebastian, I want you to see if you can find where those men live. If any of the girls are still there, free them. And if there are any more occupants who attempt to stop you, deal with them accordingly."

"Yes, my lord."

As Sebastian took off to fulfill his orders, Ciel prepared a letter for the Queen. After all, he dealt with criminals and the business they partook in the underworld, and those men who had abused all of the young girls were about as active in the underworld as one could get.

He was glad he finally knew the reason Adalina refused to speak. It certainly made sense after all the trauma she had been through. He could relate to her on some level. Both of them had seen their parents die and were forced into captivity of different sorts.

He had to wonder if Adalina would ever choose to speak again. What kind of situation would she be in where she chose to say something? Would he live to see such a day?

Only time would tell.

* * *

Adalina soon graduated from foils, so Sebastian began to train her with real swords. She picked up a lot of cuts and scrapes, but she didn't care. If a lot of minor injuries prevented her from getting killed in the future, it was worth it.

Sebastian soon also began to teach her hand-to-hand combat. While it was literally impossible for Adalina to defeat him, he was an excellent opponent to train with. He took things slow enough for her to learn, he was patient, and with his speed, he could easily give her the impression she was fighting multiple people. While he knew when to hold back, that didn't mean he went easy on her. She picked up many bruises and sore muscles as she trained. But she refused to let any of that mess with her work. She still remained a loyal and hardworking head maid for the Earl Phantomhive.

The whole idea of training with Sebastian was comical really. No maids serving nobility learned how to swordfight or engage in combat. If anyone found out about the long hours she spent learning such skills (including the times where Sebastian had awoken her in the middle of the night for additional training), she might be rebuked for such improper behavior.

However, she was a Phantomhive maid, and the rules for her were a bit different than for the rest of society.

Sebastian, Ciel, and Adalina were in town late at night doing some shopping and seeing if there was any activity that Scotland Yard did not know about yet. It was always best for Ciel to know things before they did. Scotland Yard always did interfere with his work in the most annoying ways.

It was a very quiet night and hardly anyone was still out and about.

They had just exited one of the shops when a short but shrill scream pierced the air. Immediately, the three of them took off to see the source of the noise and help whoever may be in trouble.

Adalina was not prepared for the sight that greeted her.

A woman lay sprawled on the ground just off the sidewalk where she could easily be missed if one wasn't really looking. Blood flowed from her body and began to soak the pavement.

It reminded her of that fateful day so long ago.

Her father's blood running across the floor. Her mother's blood splashing onto her face and clothing.

Adalina suddenly felt very ill. The memories all came back far too quickly, and the sheer awfulness of it was too much for her to handle.

She quickly turned away and bent over as she began vomiting against the wall.

"Adalina!" Ciel exclaimed.

Adalina ignored him as she continued to heave.

Finally, she wiped her mouth and stood back up, her eyes very glassy and her face almost as white as Sebastian's.

Having previously seen her memories, Sebastian knew exactly why she reacted the way she did. It didn't help that he had forced her to relive those moments not too long ago, and they were much fresher in her mind than they had been previously.

Adalina looked away from the two males, extremely embarrassed they had had to witness such a reaction from her. She had been working to improve their opinion of her after the events she had been part of in the last several weeks, and this particular incident was not helping. Of course, she was unaware that Ciel had rather similar reactions when presented with the same kind of situation.

Sebastian saw what looked like a film reel exit the dead woman's wounds, though the two humans were oblivious to it. That meant that someone was not far behind.

"Is that my Bassy?!"

The butler sighed as his thoughts were proven correct.

The redhead Grim Reaper hopped down from the rooftops and landed next to the woman. "My, fancy seeing you here!" He looked over at the Cinematic Record and opened a small book. "Let's see here. Emma Longley, wife of Samuel Longley, just married two years ago. Rather unfortunate, don't you think?"

Adalina blinked back tears and looked at the feminine man. He seemed familiar, like she had met him before.

"Adalina, this is Grell Sutcliff," Sebastian said, sensing her confusion. "You may remember him when he came to work at the manor when he served as Madam Red's butler. However, his true identity is that he is a Grim Reaper."

Adalina's head began to spin. In the course of just a few weeks, she had seen that both demons and now Grim Reapers were in fact real beings? Why did both of them hide their true identity by being butlers?

At least Sebastian was a good butler. Grell had been the worst butler she had ever seen, and on multiple occasions, she had been the one to have to clean up his messes.

"Ah, yes, I remember you," Grell said to her. "The mute one. Any improvement on that?"

Adalina looked away from him.

"Guess not."

"How did this woman die?" Ciel asked.

"Multiple lacerations to the chest and neck. This is the third one in two weeks."

"Why are they dying?"

"How am I supposed to know? I just know the cause of death and what's on their Cinematic Record. And all I can see is some weird blur on this thing and then it ends."

"Did you see anyone with her just now?"

"I wasn't paying attention."

It seemed to Adalina that he was no better a Grim Reaper than he was a butler.

Grell took out his Death Scythe, which was a huge chainsaw, and hacked at the end of the Cinematic Record coming from her body. Then he opened his book and placed a stamp on one of the pages.

"That's one more down. Hopefully, this will get Will off my back for a while."

"You said this was the third woman in two weeks," Ciel continued. "What do you mean?"

"Three women have appeared on my list. This woman here, Emma, and two others. All of them died of the same causes, were about the same age, and had similar appearances."

"It appears we have a serial killer on our hands," the Earl mused. "But why is he only targeting this specific group of women?"

Grell came over to Sebastian and began leaning on his shoulder. "So, have you been working very hard lately? It certainly shows. You look better each time I see you, Bassy."

Adalina might've smiled at the very uncomfortable look on Sebastian's face if she didn't have the body of a dead woman in front of her.

"I think we should see a certain someone about the other two murders," Ciel stated. "I'd like to get some more information about this. No doubt if I don't, the Queen will order me to anyway."

"Very good, sir," Sebastian said. He looked disdainfully at Grell. "Don't you have more souls to reap?"

Grell rolled his eyes. "Ugh, my work calls me away for now. Ta-ta, Bassy! We shall meet again soon!"

The Grim Reaper took to the sky and began bounding across the rooftops. Sebastian sighed again. How he loathed his run-ins with that figure or any of the like. He wasn't sure there had ever been a Grim Reaper he had ever liked even a little bit. They were all perfectly loathsome to be around.

When the butler looked over at Adalina, her eyes were transfixed on the woman's dead body. Tears began rolling down her cheeks. He gently touched her shoulder with the intention of moving her back to their carriage, but instead she just turned to look at him. A small sob escaped from her mouth. To his surprise, she leaned against his chest, and he felt her body shaking with silent cries.

After a few tense seconds, he loosely put his arms around her. He wasn't used to comforting people in this way. Ciel would never accept any sort of comfort from him if his life depended on it, and he wasn't sure he had ever had a master or a mistress who had sought comfort from him. Who wanted physical comfort from a demon? He wasn't sure he even knew how to truly comfort someone. All his ways of giving out "comfort" were usually just to gain information for whoever he served at the time. He could make anyone feel better with just the right words spoken in just the right tone. He already knew quite well that those ways wouldn't work on Adalina.

So…why was that strange feeling from before returning to him?

* * *

That night, Adalina sat in her quarters furious with herself. She hated that she had appeared so weak and vulnerable in front of her master. She had been hired to protect him, and she was sure that he was losing confidence in her abilities by the day. After all, she had been caught in several situations the past few weeks where she hadn't been able to protect him or herself and he had seen her weaker side.

More so, she was extremely embarrassed that she had leaned onto Sebastian the way she did. She had been able to feel his discomfort, yet she didn't move. He clearly didn't want her to be exhibiting such emotions since he knew it would cause Ciel to doubt him and his decision to hire her. She should never have done such a thing. She shouldn't have cried in the first place.

Becoming more frustrated by the second, Adalina slammed her fist onto the wall. Pain shot through her arm, but she ignored it.

She vowed that she would never again show such weakness in front of her master or Sebastian. Sebastian had filled her in on the full story of how he came to be Ciel's butler and the details of the contract they had made. If Ciel, who had also lost his parents in front of him and spent time in captivity _and_ was significantly younger than her, could handle anything he faced, then so could she. The next time she came up against something that reminded her of her unfortunate time held captive, she would be strong and she would fight against any weakness. She would not allow her memories to control her.

Her head turned when someone knocked on her door.

"Adalina?" Sebastian said. "I thought I heard something. I wanted to be sure you were all right." His eyes widened a little when he saw that her hand was beginning to bleed. "You've been hurt."

Adalina looked at her hand. She hadn't even realized that she had broken the skin when she hit the wall.

"We must take care of that immediately. If you'll wait here a moment."

She barely even had time to blink before he was back with the supplies he needed.

Sebastian began to clean her wound, and she refused to flinch when the liquid stung the open skin. Then he put a cold towel onto the bruises tainting her pale skin.

"I can only assume that you brought this injury upon yourself out of frustration. I cannot see any other way you could manage to retrieve this."

Adalina looked away from him, unwilling to meet his eyes. Sebastian didn't have to be a demon to feel the frustration radiating off her.

"Are you angry with yourself? Over what? Over your reaction to seeing the body tonight? I assure you, no one blames you for that. Perhaps you wouldn't have fallen sick had I not forced you to recount such painful memories not long ago. I take some of the blame for what happened. But there's no need for you to hurt yourself."

He took the cold towel off her hand and began to bandage it up, ignoring yet another strange feeling when he touched her hand.

"This is part of the reason why I have been teaching you how to defend yourself. The more confident you are in your abilities, the stronger you will become to such sights and situations. Regardless, it's perfectly all right for you to exhibit those emotions. You are a human after all, and you were exposed to such awful things in the past. It's only natural for you to be upset at reliving such an experience. The young master would probably not want me telling you this, but he reacted the same way several months ago when he was faced with memories of his own past. So if anyone understands why you reacted that way, it would be him."

He tied off the bandage on her hand. She gave him one of her barely noticeable smiles. She appreciated that he was trying to make her feel better, but she was still angry at herself for appearing weak.

She knew that he had been uncomfortable when she cried onto him. He may not have mentioned it, but she knew. The fact that he didn't mention it was proof enough.

For that reason, she was going to make sure that such a situation never happened to either of them again.


	7. Chapter 7

Early the next day, Ciel, Sebastian, and Adalina paid a visit to the one person who would be able to tell them more about the bodies.

"Why, if it isn't Earl Phantomhive and his butler," the gray-haired man said with a laugh. "And you've brought someone new. Who is this lady?"

"This is my head maid, Adalina," Ciel answered.

"I see. What brings you to my shop on this fine day?"

"I want to know about the three murders that have happened in the last two weeks."

"Yes, I remember those women. I made them all look quite pretty again."

"All of them died the same way, yes?"

"Maybe they did, maybe they didn't. I'd be willing to tell you for the usual price."

Ciel groaned. "Sebastian, take care of this."

"Why don't you get the lady to? I haven't had a laugh from a woman in ages!"

"That's impossible. She is a mute."

Undertaker chuckled a little. "Ah, very well. I guess as long as I get paid, it doesn't matter who delivers."

Sebastian fixed his gloves. "Young master, I must ask you to wait outside with Adalina."

"Fine," Ciel grumbled. "Come, Adalina."

Adalina raised her eyebrows as she followed Ciel outside the funeral parlor. She had never realized that the young earl associated himself with such…strange characters. It was amazing how much she hadn't known before she found out Sebastian was a demon. Now that she knew, they must've thought there was no need to keep anything a secret from her any longer. It was kind of interesting to see just what the Ciel did when working as the Queen's Guard Dog. She had always been rather curious about what exactly he got himself involved with.

After a few moments, loud laughter came from inside the funeral parlor so much that the sign over the shop shook, and Adalina worried for a moment that it was going to fall.

Sebastian opened the door with a smile. "You can come back in now."

Undertaker leaned on his desk hiding his face in his sleeves as he laughed. "Your jokes just get better and better! All right, here's what I know. All three women who were murdered had the same qualities. They were all around 24 years old, had light brown hair that had been curled and very slender bodies, and they all seemed to be wearing a very expensive and rare perfume. All of the ladies were part of the upper class and were dressed as if they were attending a social event that night."

"They were only killed at night?" Ciel asked.

"But of course. The murders were quite messy, so it wasn't done by someone who knew what they were doing. They made quick work of it so they could get away before anyone noticed. All the murders were done in the darkness of an alley or somewhere like it. And each lady was alone when she was murdered."

"If that's the case, then they must've been lured away by someone they trusted. Which means he must be part of the upper class as well. He gets them away from the party and then he kills them. But why? Why only target these specific women?"

"I'm not sure, my lord. But I suggest finding out who the murderer is soon before another poor young woman succumbs to his threats."

Ciel exited the funeral parlor with Sebastian and Adalina behind him. "Sebastian, find out when the next party is and make sure I am invited to it. I don't doubt this man will be attending in order to seek out his next victim."

"Certainly, my lord. Adalina, please return the young master to the manor and prepare him his afternoon tea. I shall be there to join you shortly."

Adalina politely curtseyed and escorted Ciel back to their carriage. They rode in silence as they made their way back to the manor. Once they arrived, Adalina stepped out and helped Ciel out after her. Then she opened the manor door for him and allowed him to go inside before her.

"I shall be in my study. Sebastian shouldn't be too much longer. Earl Grey will be fine for today."

Adalina curtseyed again and went to retrieve her master's tea. When she went up to his study with the tray, Sebastian was already inside.

"I've secured an invitation to Lord Walden's party this coming Thursday evening. He is a Viscount who regularly hosts social parties in the hopes of marrying off his three daughters. One of them is your age. For the sake of things, I did not mention that you were already engaged."

"With any luck, we won't be staying long anyway. Hopefully, we can catch the murderer before I have to dance or converse with anyone."

"Yes, your dancing skills are still sorely lacking."

"Oh, shut it."

* * *

When the party rolled around, Ciel dressed in his formal evening wear while Sebastian and Adalina wore their same clothes as usual. After all, they were just servants serving their master for the evening. They were not guests.

Ciel chose a spot against the wall, his eyes scanning the room for any suspicious activity that may lead him to the killer.

"I shall fetch you some drinks, Master," Sebastian said. "I should warn you, if you don't do something soon, it won't be long before Lord Walden asks you to dance with his youngest daughter."

Ciel glared at his butler. Sebastian just smirked as he went towards the refreshments.

Adalina looked towards the back of the room near the back entrance. Her eyebrows furrowed when she saw a man politely usher a brown-haired woman out the door.

She quickly tapped Ciel on the shoulder and discreetly pointed towards him. The man quickly looked around to see if anyone was watching him. He did not notice Ciel and Adalina's stares.

"After him," Ciel said quickly. "We have to stop him before he hurts anyone!"

Without waiting for either of his servants, Ciel quickly took off towards the back entrance but not so fast that he attracted attention from any of the other guests. Unable to get Sebastian's attention, Adalina quickly followed after him to make sure he didn't get hurt.

"You there!" the young boy shouted as he ran to towards the man.

The man took one look at Ciel and started running away.

"Lord Daniel?" the woman called in confusion.

"Please, ma'am," Ciel said to her. "It's in your best interest to return to the party."

"But what about—"

"We'll find him. Come, Adalina."

Adalina followed Ciel as he took off after the man called Daniel. It was very chilly outside seeing as it was well into winter and a thick layer of snow rested on the ground. She hadn't had time to grab her coat so she was understandably very cold by now. Ciel was wearing more layers than her so he was probably a bit warmer but not by much.

They chased Daniel down next to a frozen lake in the nearby park. He was faster than the two of them, and Adalina knew that neither of them were going to be able to catch him. Only Sebastian would be able to do so.

She frantically looked around her for anything that could possibly stop him and laid eyes on a long leather cord that had fallen from one of the riders who had passed by earlier in the day when training his horse.

She picked it up out of the snow, feeling a bit sick at something that vividly reminded her of her punishment when she got caught stealing.

Having seen other girls being whipped either for punishment or sometimes just for the men's sick enjoyment, she silently hoped that she could replicate what they had done for her own less vile purposes. With all her might, she flung the cord towards Lord Daniel. It tangled between his legs just enough to make him trip and fall over.

"Well done," Ciel complimented.

Adalina smiled a little. She couldn't believe that had actually worked.

Ciel walked over to the man with a smirk on his face.

It was too dark for Daniel to clearly see Ciel's face, and he couldn't make out Adalina at all. He just knew that he was in trouble, and he needed to do something about it.

He pretended to be unconscious until he felt the boy next to him. Then he quickly opened his eyes and kicked Ciel's feet out from under him before shoving him out onto the thin ice across the lake.

Adalina gasped when she saw the ice under Ciel begin to crack. Daniel made a run for it, but unfortunately, she couldn't focus on him at the moment. Ciel had to take first priority. It was her job as a Phantomhive servant.

Knowing that she couldn't reach him without cracking the ice further which would put him more at risk, she tightly gripped the cord in her hand. Then she flung it towards Ciel. It wrapped around his arm, and she quickly pulled as hard as she could to get him away from the cracking ice. The force of it propelled her forward, and she felt herself flying across the ice as Ciel was yanked back onto solid ground.

And then the ice broke.

Adalina felt herself go under the water. It was below freezing and her limbs went numb as the water surrounded her. She began to panic when she couldn't catch her breath. After all, she didn't know how to swim. No one had ever taught her, and it wasn't like she spent a lot of time near an ocean or a lake growing up. She frantically kicked under the water and reached up for the surface, hoping to get above the water for air.

She was sinking. She couldn't get any air into her lungs. She couldn't move. She couldn't breathe.

Suddenly, a hand firmly grasped her own, and she felt herself pulled up out of the frigid water. She began taking heaving breaths, trying to fill her emptied lungs. Her hands curled into tight fists as her whole body began to shake violently.

She was in someone's arms.

Sebastian.

Her breathing came in ragged gasps due to her shivering. She felt like she could not adequately fill her lungs with the oxygen they so desired.

"Young master, I shall return her to the manor myself since she cannot stay in these wet clothes for the entire duration of the carriage ride back. I trust you can return on your own."

"Yes, I'll be fine," Ciel stated. "Just make sure she's all right."

Ciel quickly turned back towards the party where his carriage would be waiting for him. He was furious that they had lost the killer and more so that Adalina had been put in harm's way protecting him. Even if he didn't show it, he greatly respected her and didn't take kindly to people who put her in danger.

He was going to find this Daniel, and he was going to make him pay.

Without dropping the young woman, Sebastian managed to take off his coat and cover her shaking body with it.

"I apologize for the discomfort you are about to feel," he told her. "The wind is going to be most unpleasant. But this is the quickest way back to the manor where you can get warmed up."

Sebastian began running back towards the manor, hopping up on trees and rooftops and any other thing he could use to propel his speed. The wind whipped through Adalina's hair and she felt the chill begin to seep even further into her bones than it already was.

"Just hang on a little bit longer," she heard Sebastian say calmly over the wind. "We're almost there."

She gripped his coat tighter around her body, seeking anything that would provide warmth.

Finally, the wind ceased, but her shaking did not. In fact, she was shaking even more than she had been before, and Sebastian knew that unless he got her warmed up soon, she could suffer from severe hypothermia.

"Mey-Rin!" he called as he entered the manor.

The maid ran down the stairs, tripped on the last two and fell on the floor, and then hurried over to the butler.

"Yes, Mr. Sebastian?"

Sebastian began carrying Adalina into the parlor since he knew that she would never be able to walk in her current condition. "Start a fire inside the parlor. Help Adalina undress and get her into something dry. Do it quickly please. And try to warm her up, but do so gradually. Don't do anything that will warm her too much, or her heart could fail."

"Right away, sir!"

He left the two women alone so the freezing girl could strip from the wet clothing.

"What on earth happened?" Mey-Rin asked as she undid the buttons on the back of Adalina's dress. "Are you all right?"

Adalina gave a small nod, but it was clearly a complete lie because she was still shaking fiercely.

"I'll get a fire started!"

Mey-Rin quickly sparked a fire up in the fireplace inside the parlor. It didn't take long for it to grow in strength and begin projecting heat all across the room. However, it didn't do much for Adalina's shivering.

The maid then helped Adalina out of her dress and got her into a dry one. When her shaking hadn't stopped, she quickly wrapped two blankets around her and rubbed her arms.

"I'll fetch Mr. Sebastian! He'll know what to do now!"

Adalina fought to keep her eyes open, but she was becoming more exhausted the longer she stayed awake. All of the shaking had worn her out. She had a feeling it probably wasn't good for her to fall asleep, but she couldn't help it.

She was just so tired.

When Sebastian entered the parlor, he saw Adalina passed out in front of the fire, her body continuing to shake. He sighed a little. She should know that it wasn't good for her to sleep when nearly dying of hypothermia. He turned and locked the door to the parlor. If anyone happened to walk in on what he had to do, he would never live it down.

He could sense that Adalina was alive, that much was certain. Now he just needed to make sure she stayed that way.

Desperate for anything to warm her up so her shivering ceased, he did the first thing that came to mind. He lied down on the floor next to her and put his arms around her.

It wasn't enough. Her shaking didn't stop, and her heartbeat was getting dangerously high. She needed body heat.

His skin was normally rather cold, but he was able to warm it up if the situation called for it. He rarely did so because it took more effort than he wished it would.

Sebastian removed his jacket and unbuttoned his shirt before removing the blankets from Adalina's shoulders. Then he pulled her close to his bare chest and let her shivering body warm against his now hot skin.

He usually only did something like warming his skin if he needed to get information out of someone. So why was he choosing to do so now for the sole purpose of making Adalina feel better?

After several minutes, her shaking very, very slowly began to stop. He continued listening for her heartbeat to make sure it was still strong, and it always was.

At one point, she stirred and lifted her head up. She started to turn towards him, but he put his hand to her face and gently pushed her head back down.

"Rest, now," he said quietly, not allowing her to see their current state.

Still exhausted and not completely aware of what was happening, Adalina returned to her sleep.

Sebastian ran one of his gloved hands through her still damp hair. What was it about this human that intrigued him so much? Why did he always have these strange feelings around her that he couldn't explain? Why did he have this desire to protect her from any harm? What made her so different from other humans?


	8. Chapter 8

Adalina slowly opened her eyes. She looked around her and recalled she had passed out onto the floor in front of the fireplace in the parlor. She had blankets wrapped around her, and while she was still rather chilled, she was certainly more comfortable than she had been previously.

Her eyebrows creased together as she looked behind her. Hadn't Sebastian been there before? Perhaps she had just dreamed that. After all, she had been quite out of it at the time.

But if it really was a dream, why was she able to remember the feeling of his arms around her as she continued to shiver from being drenched in frigid water? Why could she remember that he made her feel warmer than she expected to feel? Why could she remember his gentle voice telling her to rest? Why did it make her nervous to think that it was possible he had been so close to her?

She slowly got up from the floor and dropped one of the blankets. She kept the other one tightly pulled around her shoulders before exiting the parlor. Then she made her way down to the kitchen.

Sebastian was inside, fervently preparing the next meal. He had his sleeves rolled up to his elbows and his coat was hanging on the hook. She had to admit to herself that he did look rather attractive like that. But attractive or not, he was a demon, and she was still attempting to get used to that. He was probably only this attractive _because_ he was a demon.

"You've finally awoken," he said with a small smile when he noticed her presence. "How are you feeling?"

Adalina clung the blanket tighter around her in response.

"You must be hungry. Would you like something to eat?"

She gave him a small nod.

"Very well. The young master has allowed you to be excused from your chores for the time being to allow you to recover. Return to your room and I shall bring you a tray of food."

Adalina smiled a little before heading back out. As she made her way to her quarters, she suddenly felt very light-headed. The room began to spin before her, and she felt as if her feet were no longer tethered to the ground.

She began to fall towards the hard floor.

However, before she could hit the ground, Sebastian caught her in his arms having sensed that something was wrong with her as she left the kitchen. He pulled off one of his gloves and lightly pressed his hand to her forehead.

"As I suspected," he murmured. "You have contracted a fever. This won't do at all."

He gently lifted her up, letting the blanket drop to the floor, and carried her to the head maid's quarters before placing her down on the bed. Heat was radiating off her body, yet she was beginning to shiver again. He sighed as he pulled the thin blanket on the bed overtop of her.

Letting her rest for the time being, he returned up to his master's study where Ciel was angrily sifting through paperwork.

"How is she?" he asked when the butler came into the room.

"I'm afraid she's come down with a fever since her fall into the lake. She is resting now, and I will continue to care for her until she is well again."

"I want to find this Daniel man, and I want him dead."

"If I may, sir, Adalina fits the description of each of the women who were murdered. If she is up to the task once she is recovered, she may pose as one of the women in order to draw Daniel out. After all, he did not see her well enough in the dark, and even if he did, he would not recognize her if she was dressed as a member of the upper class."

Ciel folded his hands together and placed them under his chin. "Do you think she would be able to handle it?"

"I don't doubt it. She is a Phantomhive servant after all. And I believe she has had quite a change in attitude since our encounter with the latest murder."

"What do you mean?"

"I entered her room that night and found her hand bleeding after she had hit the wall. I believe she was angry with herself for the way she reacted to the murder in front of you."

"It's quite understandable knowing what she went through before she came here."

"If I'm correct, she was comparing her history to yours and felt that if you could handle it, she should've been able to as well."

"Quite an admirable view of things. Ask her about it once she's recovered. If she agrees, we'll attempt to let the killer know there is someone else out there who fits his criteria. Then be sure to contact Nina Hopkins as we shall be in need of her services."

"Yes, my lord."

Sebastian returned to Adalina's room with a bucket of water and a couple cloths. He rolled up his sleeves and dipped a cloth into the water. Then he gently rubbed it across her forehead and her cheeks to help the fever go down.

He had to give her credit. He wasn't sure the other servants would've been able to pull off what she had at the lake. They were gifted assassins, but that only meant they could shoot at things from a distance and Finnian could throw heavy stuff at attackers. They couldn't pull the young master away from anything, at least not the way she had.

She really didn't think much of herself, but he knew that his young master valued her more than he let on. Even more so now that she was aware of just what exactly he surrounded himself with. Just weeks ago, she hadn't known that demons and Grim Reapers existed and now they were a huge part of her world.

Such irony.

He folded up one of the cloths and placed it on her forehead. Then he left the room to retrieve some food and water for when she awoke again.

A few hours later, Adalina opened her eyes and saw she was in her room.

She sighed in embarrassment as she recalled fainting in the foyer of the manor. That would be perfect for bettering her master's image of her.

She felt chilled but very warm at the same time, and it felt as if someone was sitting on her chest making it rather difficult to breathe.

"Are you feeling better?"

She turned her head to see Sebastian setting a tray down on the small desk in her room.

"I've prepared some soup for you along with a glass of water and a bit of tea. When you have finished that, I'll prepare a warm bath. It should help you get rid of the fever."

Adalina got out from under the blanket and coughed a little as she went to sit at the desk to eat what Sebastian had made for her.

"My master and I have something we would like to ask you," Sebastian said as she sipped the soup. "You have quite similar characteristics to the women murdered. If you are up for it, the young master would like it if you pretended to be of the upper class in order to draw the killer out."

Adalina thought about the prospect. She wasn't sure Daniel would find her worth killing once he found out she was a mute. But this would be the best opportunity to show Ciel that she truly was a Phantomhive servant and she wasn't going to show weakness any longer. She had been training with Sebastian for a long time, and she knew that while she wasn't an expert, she was more than capable of defending herself against such a man. If the Undertaker spoke the truth, Daniel didn't know what he was doing when he murdered these women. He just wanted a quick kill, and she could definitely protect herself in that case.

She looked at Sebastian and nodded.

"Excellent. In that case, I have something for you."

He procured a brand-new whip quite similar to the one she had used to save Ciel from the ice.

"You managed to use one of these quite efficiently the other night. I think we should practice using this for a while, especially if you're going against Daniel. Imagine his surprise when the young woman he plans to murder knows how to fight back."

Adalina smiled a little as he echoed her earlier thoughts.

"When you are well, I shall help you learn how to use one of these to the best of your ability when defending yourself. Then you will be given clothing to pass off as a noble and present yourself at an upcoming social event. The master plans to use Mr. Lau and myself to spread a rumor throughout town that you are a young woman entering society for the first time. We'll be sure to touch on your physical appearance. That way, word will reach Daniel, and he will know there is another victim he must look out for."

Adalina downed the glass of water after finishing her tea. She was already beginning to feel much better and knew that her bath would only help the recovery process even more. Within two days, she knew she would be as good as new. And she was more than ready to begin learning how to fight with her new weapon.

There were several bathrooms in the manor. A master bathroom that only Ciel was allowed to use, one for the servants to use, and several throughout the manor for guests. However for this one night, Ciel let Adalina use one of the guest bathrooms which she was surprised to learn. Despite what she had suffered in order to protect him, she did not think he would allow her to use one of the nicer bathrooms.

"Everything you should need is in this cabinet," Sebastian told her as they entered the bathroom. "I've already drawn the water for you, and there is a nightgown resting on the chair for you to change into. Once you've finished, return to your room and rest for a while. The sooner you get better, the sooner you may begin training."

Sebastian left the bathroom to give her some privacy for her to bathe.

Adalina stripped off the dress she was wearing and stepped into the warm water in the porcelain tub. She sighed in happiness as she sank down until the water touched her chin, and she could feel the heat from the water gradually help her breathe easier. This bathroom was much nicer than the servants' bathroom. It wasn't that her usual bathroom was dirty or horrible, but in comparison, this one was a lot better to bathe in.

She hadn't had a moment like this in a very long time. A moment where she could just take some time to herself and not worry about anything else as she laid down in the bathwater. No servants wishing for her to hurry, no one calling for her to do something for them, just peace.

Adalina would be lying if she said she hadn't dozed off for a few minutes. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt so relaxed. It made nearly dying almost worth it.

Once the water had become lukewarm, she stepped out of the tub and dried herself off with the towels Sebastian had provided for her. She then changed into the nightgown and put a wrap around her shoulders. She didn't want Ciel to see her in just a nightgown should he happen to run into her. The wrap didn't help that much, but it was a lot better than nothing.

She quietly exited the bathroom and made her way back to her quarters. Once inside, she looked to her desk and saw that there were a couple books laying on it. She gave a small smile as she realized that Sebastian must have given her some books from the library for her to occupy herself with as she got better.

Sebastian seemed to go out of his way a lot for her. More than she expected him to anyway. She knew he had a duty to his master (which had taken on a whole new meaning for her in the past several weeks), but he didn't have any contract with her. So why did it feel like he was doing much more than necessary for her? Had Ciel ordered it? She highly doubted that was the case. Ciel may care about her as a servant, but not so much that he would order Sebastian to go above and beyond for someone like her.

Whatever the case, she was grateful for it, especially in times like these. He may be uncaring towards everyone, even his master since he only cared about him for the exclusive purpose of eating his soul, but it was nice to know that despite that, he was still willing to protect her.


	9. Chapter 9

Two days later once Adalina had recovered for the most part, Sebastian began training her in the ballroom to use her new whip. They first worked on tossing it towards objects and latching onto them. Then they worked on disarming an attacker who was holding a gun or a knife. They ended their multiple training sessions by working on grabbing an object from an attacker and catching it in her free hand.

She picked up quite a few more injuries as she practiced. The knives she attempted to grab flung towards her and would've impaled her had Sebastian not used his speed to grab it in time. She had accidently grabbed a knife on the wrong end once and received a nice gash on her hand. There were also a couple bruises and cuts on various parts of her body when the whip came back to smack her or when she missed grabbing a weapon.

However, she certainly picked up the basics fast. It usually took Adalina hours upon hours to learn a new skill, especially when it was something as difficult as combat. But when it came to using a whip, she had almost mastered the skill in only a few training sessions. A part of that was due to the fact that she had witnessed a whip in use so many times. While the circumstances were unfortunate, at least she was able to use her observations to her benefit.

What Adalina was not prepared for was the atrociousness of etiquette lessons.

Sebastian spent the majority of his time over the course of the next few days teaching her how to be a proper young woman, and it was terrible. The lessons were extremely boring, and she was getting more and more frustrated with each passing moment she had to listen to him drone on and on about how she should do this and shouldn't do that.

For walking lessons, Sebastian made her walk around with two books on her head to make sure her back stayed straight. When he took the book away, he continually smacked her legs, back, and shoulders with his teaching stick to keep up her posture. For a while, she wondered if she had more bruises from the stick than from her combat training.

At one point, she started dozing off because she was exhausted after Sebastian had woken her up in the middle of the night multiple times in order to continue training her to use her whip. Every single one of her muscles hurt, and she wanted to stay in bed for a week. Sebastian slammed the stick on the table in front of her, and she bolted up in surprise.

"If you want to successfully convince Lord Daniel that you are of the upper class, you need to pay attention!" he ordered.

Adalina sighed heavily in annoyance.

"Don't give me that look. You agreed that you would do this which means preparation is needed."

She glared at him, envisioning herself grabbing his teaching stick and snapping it in half before beating him with the pieces, and did her best to stay awake. It wasn't her fault he wasn't letting her get any sleep.

Ciel came in to watch some of the lessons, and he clearly enjoyed himself. She could see him smirking from the side of the room, and if he wasn't her master, she would've used her new skills on him.

Things did not improve on the day of the party. Nina Hopkins, Ciel's tailor, came to the manor in order to help. She had been informed of the whole situation, and being the independent woman she was, she loved the plan.

That was when Adalina knew that it was going to be a very, very long day.

"Adalina!" Nina cried as she came inside the manor. "When Ciel told me that you needed a dress, you have no idea how excited I was! I've been wanting to dress you up for ages! Now come on, come on, come on, there's no time to waste!"

As Nina practically dragged the maid into a room upstairs, Adalina tossed Sebastian another glare. The butler couldn't help but chuckle a little at her discomfort.

"Now, I've already come with a few designs, but I need to take your measurements first," Nina explained.

She quickly took out her tape measure and held it against all of the necessary parts of Adalina's body. Then she wrote down each of the measurements as she took them.

"I think that blue is definitely your color. It will bring out your skin tone marvelously! I'll add some black lace to it to make you stand out a bit more. And I'll let the neckline dip so that everyone can see your beautiful shoulders! The great thing about designing your clothes is that the butler isn't here to make any of his ridiculous comments!"

Adalina smiled a little, knowing how much Nina really disliked Sebastian and constantly argued with him when it came to fashion choices. She was one of the two people who was actually capable of intimidating him, Ciel's Aunt Francis being the other.

Downstairs, the doors burst open and a blur of red ran into the foyer and up the stairs.

"Ciel! Ciel! Ciel! CIEL!"

Ciel turned around and was immediately swept up in a tight hug that almost made him lose his breakfast.

"Hello, Lizzy," he mustered out. "So good of you to come."

"Well, I couldn't pass up a chance to see you, now could I? Where's Adalina? I want to help her get ready!"

"Wait a moment, how did you know about that?"

"Nina was so excited she got to make a dress for her that she told me she wanted me to help her out!"

"I see. Well, she's just upstairs in—"

"Thanks!"

Elizabeth bounded off through the manor to find Adalina and Nina. Ciel looked after her and smiled a little. He would never admit it out loud, but he did find Elizabeth's excitement over things rather charming.

"What are you smiling at, young master?" Sebastian asked with a teasing smirk.

"Nothing," Ciel answered quickly, his face reddening a touch.

When the door burst open, Adalina sighed a little when she saw who had come in while she was in nothing but her undergarments. First Nina, now Elizabeth. She was beginning to question if agreeing to this whole plan truly was a mistake.

Elizabeth was very nice to her, and it wasn't that Adalina disliked her in any way. On the contrary, she thought that Elizabeth and Ciel made an utterly adorable couple. It was just that Elizabeth had a tendency to be very…overzealous.

"Good timing, Lizzy!" Nina smiled. "While I'm making this, can you start doing her hair and makeup? I thought you'd be the only one to truly make her look beautiful."

Elizabeth squealed happily. "I'll make you look so _adorable_ that you'll attract everyone's attention!"

Adalina didn't care about attracting attention. She just wanted to get Lord Daniel's attention and that would be good enough for her.

Elizabeth forced Adalina to sit down in front of the vanity. While Paula was usually the one to do Elizabeth's hair, it didn't mean Elizabeth was incapable of doing hair altogether. She was pretty adept at hair care for someone of her age and class. After all, she wanted everyone, especially her, to be cute at all times and that meant knowing how to properly do hair and makeup.

For the next few hours, both Nina and Elizabeth did everything they desired with Adalina. She felt herself pushed one way and pulled another and dragged all over the place as they both did what they could to make her look like a woman of higher class. Unfortunately for her, that meant Nina had to shove her into a corset.

Adalina recalled the time Ciel had posed as a young girl and had had to wear a corset of his own. She wasn't sure if she was supposed to know about that whole incident, but a head maid knew everything. (Well…clearly not _everything_ ). She remembered being very amused when she heard Ciel's pained cries from down the hall as Sebastian tightened the corset.

It was no wonder. This piece of clothing was one of the most painful things she had ever had to wear.

By the time they finished with her, Adalina almost felt bad for Daniel. She was in an absolutely terrible mood and had no doubt that she was going to bring her extreme frustration into her fight with him.

Ciel and Sebastian waited down in the foyer for Adalina to come down so they could all head down to the party. The servants couldn't help but wait with them so they could see what Adalina looked like.

Nina stood at the top of the first landing of the staircase underneath one of the large portraits.

"I present to you all, Lady Madeline Parnell."

Adalina took a deep breath (though that ended up being a struggle because of the tight corset), held her back erect lest Sebastian yell at her again, and walked out to the landing to join Nina.

Sebastian's eyes widened for a moment as she came into view.

Nina had designed a royal blue dress with off-the-shoulder straps made of black lace ribbon that went all the way around the neckline which stopped in the middle of her chest. A large black bow sat on her chest with a thin black lace choker around her neck. Black fabric came out of the bottom of the skirt where the blue stopped. She was also wearing long black gloves that went all the way up past her elbows.

"Lizzy and I added blonde highlights to her hair to make it appear lighter," Nina added. "And we made sure to give her that perfume you told me to use."

Sebastian saw that some of her hair was indeed a lighter color. All of her hair had been curled into loose ringlets. Half of it was pinned up with her hair parted to the left. Two small pieces of curled hair accented her cheeks.

"Whoa…" Baldroy said quietly, the cigarette nearly falling out of his mouth.

Mey-Rin clasped her hands together in front of her. "Adalina looks so beautiful, she does!"

"She looks like a princess!" Finnian gasped, red slighting tingeing his cheeks and sparkles lighting up his eyes.

Adalina gave them a very small smile as she carefully descended the steps.

That strange feeling Sebastian had been having lately came back stronger than it ever had before.

He held out his hand for her as she reached the bottom stair, and she slowly took it. He then gently kissed her knuckles before putting her hand in the crook of his arm.

"I shall be your escort this evening seeing as I am your 'tutor' and therefore am the one presenting you at the party."

Adalina nodded a little. While she was very eager to get this night over with, she couldn't deny that she did feel…really pretty. She hadn't thought herself beautiful in a very, very long time.

"Well done, Nina, as always," Ciel remarked. "I can barely recognize her. Thank you as well, Lizzy."

"Of course!" Lizzy squealed. "I think she looks gorgeous! Have fun tonight!"

Adalina smiled at the girl's naivety. She had no idea what was really going to happen to her tonight or why she was even getting dressed up to begin with. It was best for her to not know.

The three of them went outside to the awaiting carriage.

"My lady," Sebastian said as he helped her into it.

Adalina smiled a little more at him being so formal with her. He was certainly playing his part well.

Ciel and Sebastian got into the carriage behind her and headed into London for the party.

"Adalina, I don't know if Sebastian or I will be able to see when Lord Daniel tries to lead you away from the party," Ciel said. "If that's the case, I trust you can handle yourself. We'll try to keep tabs on you so that doesn't happen, but in the event that it does, please be careful."

Adalina nodded. She had never fought in a corset before, but she didn't think that it would be too much of a hindrance. She was on such a short fuse at the moment, a hungry pack of wolves wouldn't stop her from fighting.

Once the carriage pulled up to the house of Lord and Lady Kennedy, Sebastian got out and helped Adalina and Ciel out of the carriage as well.

"You shall have to go in yourself, young master," Sebastian said. "I have to escort Ada—Madeline inside."

"Yes, go ahead," Ciel said dismissively.

Adalina glanced at Ciel for a moment. His face looked a bit…pale, but his cheeks had the faintest trace of red. He looked kind of ill.

However, there was no time to focus on that at the moment. She had another mission to worry about for right now, and she was determined to prove herself to her master.

Adalina took Sebastian's arm, and the two of them entered the party. It wasn't the first party Adalina had ever been to, but it was the first party she had ever gotten dressed up for. She had to admit that she was a bit nervous that she would blow her cover simply because she didn't end up following the proper etiquette.

"First, we shall meet with the Lord and Lady Kennedy," Sebastian said quietly to her, sensing her nervousness.

They weaved their way through the crowd until they finally saw the host and hostess of the engagement.

"May I present Lady Madeline Parnell," Sebastian said with a bow.

Adalina politely curtseyed for the two nobles.

Lord Kennedy came forward and politely kissed her gloved hand.

"It is lovely to have you here," Lady Kennedy smiled. "We are honored that our party is your first outing. And you look absolutely wonderful. Please enjoy yourselves."

"Thank you," Sebastian answered for them. As they walked away, he told Adalina, "Now, it is expected that you must share a dance. In any case, wherever Lord Daniel is, perhaps this will draw his attention to you." He led her out to the dancing couples. "I know that we never worked on your dancing skills, but that is simply because we ran out of time. However, as long as you follow my lead, you should do fine."

Adalina felt goosebumps rise on her skin as she felt his hand press onto the small of her back. He then took her other hand and began to waltz around the room with her.

"I must say, you look simply marvelous. That dress suits you well. In the end, I have to admit that Miss Hopkins truly does know how to make one look utterly stunning."

Adalina blushed a little against her will.

Sebastian dipped her, holding her weight effortlessly. She met eyes with him and could've sworn that they glowed pink for a second. But it happened so fast, she couldn't tell if she imagined it or not.

"It's good to see that you can follow a man's lead in a dance. You are much better than the young master. Granted, it is not hard to be much better than him. My toes and shins are certainly thankful for that."

When the dance ended, Sebastian escorted her over to a chair.

"I shall fetch you a drink. That dance must've worn you out, I'm sure. I won't be long."

Adalina smiled a little and nodded. She let out a small breath trying to calm her racing heart. She wasn't sure if it was harder to breathe because of the extremely uncomfortable corset that she was sure was leaving more bruises on her ribcage, or if it was…something else.

A hand suddenly rested on her shoulder.

"Miss Madeline, correct?"

Adalina watched as a man came around to her front and took her hand. Her heart skipped a beat when she realized that the man was in fact Lord Daniel.


	10. Chapter 10

Daniel kissed her hand. "You look beautiful this evening."

Adalina nodded once as she allowed herself to smile a little.

"I heard that this is your first social event. What an exciting time for a young woman such as yourself. You are now ready for suitors to begin courting you."

Adalina looked away bashfully, playing her part.

"May I pull you away for a moment? There are some matters I would like to speak to you about privately."

The young woman looked around for Sebastian but she couldn't seem to find him in the crowd of people.

"Oh, don't worry about your escort," Daniel said quickly when he noticed her looking around. "This will only take a moment."

Adalina took Daniel's outstretched hand and let him lead her towards the back of the house where he could get out the back entrance.

This was it. All of the hours upon hours of training, the torturous etiquette lessons, and the exhausting makeover led to this one moment.

As Daniel led Madeline out of the house, he silently fumed to himself. This woman. She looked so much like… _her._ She even smelled like _her._ He couldn't take it. She had to go. Just like _her._ There was that one woman who had gotten away when he had been chased by that stupid kid a few nights ago, but he never saw her again. If he didn't see her, she wasn't a problem anymore. But this woman…she was different. She was too much like _her._ That was why she needed to go.

Daniel pulled out his knife.

But Adalina knew better. She had prepared for him to pull his knife as soon as he was alone with her.

When he went to bring the knife down, she quickly turned around and blocked his arm from finishing the job. Then with her free hand, she punched him in the face. It made her hand throb, but she ignored the pain.

Daniel was shocked as he stumbled back. She had actually been prepared for his attack! Why wasn't this woman scared of him? He had a knife in his hand! And yet, she was able to fight back. She shouldn't be able to fight back! She was a proper young lady!

Adalina whipped away the heavy skirt of her dress to reveal a short, thin piece of black fabric around her waist that came just above her knees along with her knee-high black boots. She untied the whip from around her thigh that she had secretly placed there with Nina's help. The tailor had been all too ecstatic to realize that she was able to create a short skirt for her to wear under the dress, and she loved her choice of weapon even more.

"What kind of woman are you?!" Daniel cried as his eyes widened and sweat began to drip down his face.

Adalina smirked a little. Her signature smirk that while barely noticeable could scare even the bravest men.

That was when it hit the lord. That one night when he had been chased by that stupid kid, someone had tripped him with a whip and almost got him caught. It was her! She was working for the kid!

Daniel came at her again with the knife raised above his head. If he could just get in one good strike, he could escape and be free of _her_.

However, Adalina was not going to give him that chance. She used her whip to knock the knife out of his hand, and it went flying to the ground. Daniel then tried to use his fists to immobilize her long enough for him to grab the knife.

Adalina was able to block every single one of his attacks and toss in a couple of good punches to his face and gut. With one very well-timed kick, she sent him to the ground.

Daniel dove for the knife and went for Adalina as her back was turned. Hearing him approach, Adalina quickly spun around and flung her whip at him. It wrapped around the knife, so she pulled hard. The knife flew out of his hand into the air before she caught it with another smirk.

Daniel's eyes widened at the maid's abilities. Seeing that he had no chance, he took off running. But Adalina was not about to allow him to escape from her again.

She flung the whip at him once more, and it wrapped around his arm. She then yanked hard on the whip, and he spun back towards her with a cry of surprise. Her arm wrapped around him, and she put the knife to his throat as he whimpered.

The sound of clapping filled the quiet night air.

Adalina looked up to find Sebastian standing there with a smirk on his own face.

"Well done, Madeline," he said to her. "It appears that all the training was worth it."

Sebastian walked up the man in her clutches.

"I'm afraid your game is over," he said calmly. "You will go to Scotland Yard immediately, and you will confess to your crimes. If you don't…"

Adalina watched as his eyes began to glow and his pupils turned into slits.

"…you will meet quite a messy end."

Daniel started screaming his head off, so Adalina quickly released him before he drew attention to either of them. The two of them watched him run off right to Scotland Yard as he was told.

Sebastian picked up the skirt of Adalina's dress. After the young woman tied her whip back around her thigh, he reattached the skirt to the dress.

"I do believe you have become a true Phantomhive servant," he smirked.

Adalina looked up at him and smiled a little. She was unbelievably proud of herself and had no doubt that Ciel would be too.

For the first time, Adalina felt sure and confident of herself and knew that she had the power to make sure no one ever hurt her again.

"Shall we return to the party? It would be quite rude for a young woman on her first outing to leave so early."

Adalina curtseyed and took Sebastian's arm again before returning to the house.

The young woman stayed for a while longer, dancing with many young men who had no idea that they were actually dancing with a maid. The idea of their reactions if they found out the truth was almost enough to make her laugh.

Finally, the party came to a close, and she was allowed to leave. Sebastian helped her and Ciel into the carriage. However, they went to Scotland Yard first before returning to the manor to find out more about why Daniel had murdered the women.

"Ciel Phantomhive?" Detective Abberline said in surprise when he saw the young Earl. "What are you doing here so late?"

"I know that a Lord Daniel came here tonight to confess to the murders of the young women," Ciel stated, a couple coughs leaving his mouth that he tried to hide.

"What?! He just did that a few hours ago! How did you possibly find that out already?"

"It's my job to know these things. Now, so I may inform the Queen, why did he decide to murder all those women and why did they all look similar?"

Abberline tossed a distrustful look to Adalina.

"No need to worry about her. She is a mute and won't tell anyone your secrets."

Abberline let out a sigh. "Very well. Lord Daniel ran in here in a panic, screaming that he was responsible for the three murders that had happened in the last few weeks. He claimed that his wife had left him some time ago in the middle of the night. He had been very much in love with her, so to see her gone was devastating. Therefore, every time someone passed him who looked like her and he caught the same scent of perfume she wore, something inside him snapped. He felt angry all over again at his wife's departure and killed the woman who reminded him of his beloved wife out of his anger for her betrayal. Then he started ranting about running into a blue siren and some kind of demon."

Adalina and Sebastian made eye contact and smiled a little. He had called a mute a siren? The only logical reason for that was because she had tried to draw him in before attempting to kill him. She certainly hadn't been singing to him.

"Thank you, Abberline," Ciel said. "I'll inform the Queen of this turn of events. She will be most pleased the killer has been caught."

"Lord Phantomhive, did you have anything to do with this?"

"My good sir, I can honestly say that I never even saw Lord Daniel tonight."

The three of them left Scotland Yard and went back to the manor. Adalina was exhausted and desired to go to sleep more than anything.

"Bloody tired," Ciel yawned as they stepped inside with a couple more coughs. "Sebastian, bring me some tea and then prepare my bed."

"Right away, young master," Sebastian answered.

Ciel went upstairs while Adalina made her way to the head maid's quarters.

"Miss Madeline," Sebastian called. "You did very well tonight. I know the young master is quite pleased. I'll send Mey-Rin to help you undress. Sleep in tomorrow morning. You've earned it." He took her hand and lightly kissed her knuckles again. "I bid you goodnight…my lady."

Adalina smiled just a bit bigger than she usually did, her cheeks reddening just a touch.

As Sebastian watched the head maid go, he let out a small sigh. That strange feeling had not left him once since he had seen her transformation before they left for the party. And he felt something else as he watched Adalina dance with all those young men tonight. It was similar to the feeling he got when someone messed with his contract but worse.

This wasn't right. He didn't know how it happened, but he could deny it no longer.

Sebastian Michaelis had feelings for Adalina.


	11. Chapter 11

Ever since Sebastian had come to the realization that he truly desired Adalina, he began to look at her with new eyes. He still didn't understand how such a thing had happened. Demons did not love. It was a plain and simple fact. So how in the world had he developed feelings for Adalina, someone who never even said anything, and why had they hit him so suddenly? He had worked with Adalina for a little over two and a half years, and never once had he had any romantic attraction towards her. What was so different about now?

She wasn't his demon soulmate. Such a thing was said to be a myth seeing as he had never heard of any of the demons he knew having a demon soulmate, especially not a human soulmate. And even if she was, he surely would've known by now. He would've been pulled to her from the moment he met her. He had never been pulled to her and definitely not in the romantic sense. He also would've seen a mark on her by now as proof that she was his soulmate. She was definitely not a demon soulmate.

He had never had feelings for a woman before, so a part of him questioned if what he kept feeling was truly attraction for her. But the other part of him knew that he desired Adalina much more now in a way that he had never desired anyone, not even any of his previous mistresses. He had only desired those women for their delicious souls.

The feeling was quite thrilling. After living for thousands of years, to experience completely foreign feelings was rather exciting and he decided to let himself enjoy it.

When it came to Adalina, he wished to have her near him every moment of the day. He knew that if he wanted, he could easily have her all to himself and do whatever he wanted with her. But it wasn't enough for him to want her. He also wanted her to want him. He wanted her to desire him in the same way he desired her. His normal methods for seducing women would not work on her. He would have to try something else.

But could someone like her ever want him? She had been terrified of him just a short time ago and part of that was his own fault. While she had certainly warmed up to him, he wasn't so sure she was comfortable around him yet and she certainly didn't have feelings for him. At least not the same kind of feelings he had for her. Could she learn to love him someday?

Adalina noticed a small change in Sebastian. She couldn't exactly say what it was, and it was so barely noticeable that she didn't know if the other servants could see it, but there was just something…different.

The morning after the party, her back and ribs ached terribly from being unused to wearing such a restricting piece of clothing as a corset. She had been all too thankful when Mey-Rin had _finally_ been able to take it off her body so she could inhale properly (it had taken her forever since Mey-Rin didn't know how to operate a corset very well). How women wore those things all the time, she didn't know. It was at moments like that that she was rather grateful she was a servant and was not required to wear a corset every day.

However, at the current time, her primary concern was for her master. He looked even worse than he had last night, and it was clear that he was feeling sick but was trying to hide it. He always hid everything. Adalina could never guess what he was thinking even if she tried.

He let out small coughs all throughout breakfast that grew deeper and louder as the day went on. When she tried to give him medicine, he had shortly declined. But he continued to get worse, and she knew that Sebastian noticed as well, but he never did anything about it. For some reason, his mind seemed to be elsewhere.

Things took a horrible turn when Sebastian and Adalina were following Ciel towards his study with some tea and cakes so he could get some work done.

However, before he could even make it to the stairs, Ciel began coughing once again even harder than before. His breathing became extremely labored and his face went very pale. It was clear something was very wrong. It became even clearer when Ciel fell to the floor and emptied the contents of his stomach onto the red carpet.

Adalina quickly knelt down in worry.

"He's having an asthma attack," Sebastian said quickly.

 _Asthma_? How had she not known after all this time that her young master had a chronic illness like asthma? Moreover, how did Sebastian know this and she didn't?

Questions would have to be answered later. Right now, her main focus was making sure that Ciel survived this attack.

Adalina had never touched Ciel before. After all, it was not her place to lay her hands on her master unless it was required to fulfill his orders. But in a matter of life and death, such rules were to be dismissed.

The head maid quickly hefted him up into her arms in the way one might hold a toddler. She then rushed up the stairs to his room, her heart aching for him as she heard his loud wheezing in her ears, felt the heat coming from his body as he began to sweat, and felt his body tense as he coughed harder. She lightly pressed her hand to the back of his head, wishing that she could get to his room faster.

Adalina blamed herself for this. She had noticed that he wasn't feeling right, but she had not done anything about it. Perhaps if she had done something earlier, anything at all, Ciel wouldn't be struggling for air.

She finally made it to his room and set him down on his bed where he continued to wheeze in an attempt to get oxygen into his lungs.

This was not the first asthma attack Adalina had witnessed. There had been a girl back in her time in captivity who also had asthma, and she had frequent attacks when she was in the room with the others. The poor girl has managed to successfully suppress her attacks when she was forced to serve the men until one day, she could not hold back any longer. Adalina never saw her again after that.

Adalina knelt in front of the young boy and took his head in her hands, forcing him to look at her stern face. While she was unable to give him specific instructions, he could learn by mimicking her. She made him lean forward a little and then took a breath in through her nose and out through her mouth. Then she lightly pressed her hands to his shoulders so that he didn't move them when he breathed.

Ciel did his best to do what she was clearly instructing for him to do, and it helped, but only a little bit. He continued to cough and wheeze as Sebastian came into the room behind her.

"I've brought some clary sage oil and a bit of water, my lord," he said calmly. "It should help you to breathe easier."

He stood in front of the young master with a very small bowl filled with some kind of liquid. Ciel breathed in the scent of the oil and downed the glass of water. While his wheezing decreased some, he was still having trouble getting oxygen.

"Adalina, would you please prepare a bath for the young master?" Sebastian asked. "Please make it hot. I believe the steam will do him some good."

Adalina quickly curtseyed and exited the room to go the master's bathroom. She filled the bathtub with hot water, but not so hot that it would burn him, and prepared some warm towels for when he was finished. After everything was ready, she returned to Ciel's room and her presence told Sebastian that she had completed her instructions.

"No," Ciel wheezed. "I have orders…from the Queen." He coughed heavily. "I have to…have to help…"

"My lord, you are not doing anything until you are well again."

Adalina stood outside the door as Ciel bathed in case Sebastian needed her to retrieve anything. She could hear Ciel's pained coughs coming from inside the bathroom and each one hurt her. She disliked seeing and hearing her master in pain.

When the two of them exited the bathroom with Ciel dressed in his oversized nightshirt, she followed them back to his room but did not enter. She chose to wait outside again, unsure if Ciel would want her in the room with him. She never entered his room unless it was an emergency.

Sebastian soon exited and closed the door behind him.

"He's resting now," he told the young woman. "I'm sure you're quite curious as to how this happened. You see, I myself did not know that the master had asthma until several months ago when we were working undercover at a circus. Due to several circumstances, he fell very ill much like he has now. I believe that this time, he managed to catch the cold you received not long ago and when that is combined with his running about in the cold London weather, he got sick once more."

Adalina sighed quietly. So this was her fault. It was her fault that Ciel was sick. She was the one who wasn't careful and had fallen through ice and had gotten ill. And because of that, now her young master was inside his room struggling for breath.

Sebastian frowned when he sensed her feelings of frustration. She blamed herself for occurrences in the manor far too often.

"You cannot blame yourself for this. There was no way of preventing him from getting this cold. In fact, the alternative is that he would be dead because it would mean you hadn't saved him from the ice. While it is unfortunate to see him ill, it is better than what could've been."

Adalina wondered how Sebastian always managed to say the right thing to her. It was like he knew exactly what she was thinking. Maybe it was simply one of his demon powers. How else would he be able to always know exactly what to say to her?

"For the time being, we shall let him rest and let his body fight his fever on its own. He should be perfectly fine in a matter of days. Will you help me prepare some food for him for when he wakes up?"

Adalina smiled a little and nodded before following him to the kitchen.

The two of them began chopping up vegetables and various meats that would help Ciel feel better, Sebastian instructing Adalina on what exactly he wanted and where.

"I must say, you handled all of that very well and kept an excellent composure," Sebastian said to her. "I shudder to think of what might've happened had any of the other servants been around for such a display."

Adalina smiled a little, picturing Mey-Rin, Baldroy, and Finnian running around in a panic as their young master fell to the floor.

"I'm unfamiliar with those breathing techniques you used. Do you happen to know anyone with asthma?"

Adalina put her head down as she recalled the girl from so long ago. She had had such life in her eyes when she had first arrived. It was amazing how fast that life could be stolen away.

Even if Sebastian had been expecting a reply, he wouldn't have gotten one. He could sense her sadness and realized that he had touched a nerve.

"Forgive me, I did not mean to dredge up more painful memories."

Adalina gave him a small smile and shook her head, letting him know that there was no harm done.

"This soup is done. Please take this up to the young master's room and let it sit by his bedside. It's very hot now, so it should be at a good temperature when he wakes up again."

Adalina curtseyed before taking the tray with the soup from him and heading up to Ciel's bedroom.

When she put the tray on his dresser, she spared a glance at her sleeping master. While Ciel was usually the most intimidating 14-year-old she had ever met in her life, right now, he looked kind of…cute.

She pulled up a chair and set it next to his bed. His breathing was still labored, but it was certainly much better than it had been before. The oil and the steam had helped him greatly as had the sleep. She gently began running her fingers through his damp hair as a few more coughs slipped out while he remained unconscious.

One thing Adalina knew was that children deserved to be nurtured far more than Ciel was nurtured. She wished that she could provide that motherly affection that he was so lacking, but she knew that she would never be more than a servant in his eyes. That was just the way it was. She really didn't mind it so much. After all, such a life was far better than where she had been just a few years ago, and though Ciel could sometimes be rather unfeeling, he was a kind master when it came down to it and he respected his servants. He was never cross with her even though she did not talk and didn't try to force her to speak.

But a part of her wanted her young master to be like the child he was supposed to be. He needed a mother and a father, and at the moment, all he had were Sebastian and Adalina. Both of them were hardly fit to fill the roles.

Why did such a horrible fate have to befall him at such a young age?

Sebastian passed by Ciel's room but paused when he noticed Adalina sitting by him. A small smile graced his lips when he saw the way she was touching him. He had never seen this side of her before. She always attempted to be very professional and not upset their master in the slightest. However, now that he was sick, she was much more caring and gentle with him and unafraid to lay her hands on him.

It truly was a sweet sight and made that all-too-familiar feeling return to him.

* * *

"Hey! Adalina!"

Adalina opened her eyes when she heard pounding on her door. She groggily pulled off the blankets and got out of bed. She then wrapped a shawl around her shoulders before answering the door, not wanting whoever was on the other side to see her in just her nightgown.

Finnian stood there with an alarmed expression on his face. She creased her eyebrows together in confusion, wondering why he was here in the middle of the night. It was rare she was woken up in the middle of the night, and usually Sebastian was the one to come get her when this happened.

"Something's wrong with the young master. Sebastian told me to come get you."

Adalina's eyes widened for a moment. Something must be really wrong if Sebastian needed her and couldn't come get her himself. All traces of sleep gone, she quickly followed Finnian up to Ciel's room. The other servants were standing outside the door with worried expressions.

"Sebastian's already inside," Baldroy told her. "He won't let us in, but he said that you can."

Adalina looked at them in confusion. Why would Sebastian let her in the young master's room but not the other servants? Sure, she was the head maid, but it didn't give her _that_ much precedence over the others.

Nevertheless, she trusted Sebastian's judgment. She opened the door to Ciel's bedroom just enough for her to squeeze through so the servants wouldn't see anything inside.

Ciel was huddled under the blankets as Sebastian stood a good distance from the bed.

"Who's there?" Ciel panicked from beneath the large quilt.

"It is just Adalina, my lord," Sebastian answered.

Adalina looked up to Sebastian.

"When the contract was first formed and I began to serve him, the young master had frequent nightmares. I believe his fever is producing some of those nightmares, and no matter what I do, I cannot seem to get him to calm down. I know he would not want the other servants to see him this way, but I thought perhaps you could do something for him."

Adalina looked at her master sadly. Despite it all, he was still just a child and he had endured great trauma just a short time ago. She knew what it was like to suffer from horrid nightmares about being in captivity. But even though he had only been captive for a month, his time had been so much worse than her months on end. He had been so very, very young and abused in much worse ways than she had been. The only reason he was even sane right now was probably because he had Sebastian. It was almost painfully ironic.

She didn't know if she could be of any help to him, but she would try. If she knew one thing, being alone after a nightmare was almost unbearable. Perhaps he didn't want Sebastian near because he gave off too much of a terrifying aura even when he didn't mean to and reminded him too much of his time held captive.

Adalina wasn't sure if there had been women in the cult, but maybe being a woman would help her provide some comfort to him that Sebastian could not.

She slowly went over to his bed, not doing anything too fast so as not to scare him any more than he already was.

"Don't come near me!" Ciel cried when he heard her soft footsteps.

Adalina sighed. He didn't want her near either. But he needed someone. She just needed to show him that she meant no harm and only wanted to provide comfort for him.

She inched towards the bundle of blankets a bit more. She wished that she had the voice to say something…anything…to calm him down.

Once a bit closer, Ciel peeked his head out of the blankets and looked up at her. She had never seen the boy look so scared in the entire time she had worked for him. Clearly, going to him would just make things worse. So she would let him come to her.

She slowly extended her hand for him to take.

To Sebastian's surprise, Ciel's hand came out of the blanket he was huddled under and reached up to hers. There was a moment of hesitation before he finally touched her hand.

Adalina smiled a little and went forward to sit on the bed next to the bundle of blankets. She gave the young boy as much of a reassuring look as she could give him. He was breathing heavily out of fear, but he looked as if he was finally beginning to calm down.

Adalina slowly reached her hand out and touched his head. In response, he moved out of the blankets just a bit more and looked up at her.

Then something extremely unexpected happened that shocked both Sebastian and Adalina alike.

Ciel moved over to her and lightly grasped onto her.

Adalina froze for a moment in surprise. Then she gently rubbed her hand up and down his back in a comforting manner as he continued to hold her hand. She alternated between rubbing his back and the back of his head.

The head maid looked over at Sebastian and gave him a small nod, silently telling him that she had everything handled and would stay with Ciel until he fell asleep.

Sebastian left the room to find the other servants anxiously awaiting news about their young master.

"Adalina is watching over him now," he explained. "I assure you that he will be just fine. You may all return to sleep now."

The servants didn't press for an explanation because they knew they wouldn't get one.

Adalina held Ciel in her arms doing nothing but gently stroking him. It seemed to be enough for he continued to relax with each passing moment.

Eventually, he fell asleep again, so she gently laid him down on his bed so as not to wake him. She didn't want to leave the room in case he had another nightmare and found himself alone and they just ended up back where they had started. So she again pulled up a chair next to his bedside and stayed there to watch over him. She lightly held his hand in her own, providing him with her comforting touch even in his sleep.

Ciel did not awake again during the night, and when Sebastian entered the room to wake him up, he smiled a little at the sight of Adalina sleeping as she sat in a chair by the master's bedside with the upper half of her body lying on the bed, her hand still holding Ciel's.


	12. Chapter 12

After lots of sleep and _lots_ of preventing Ciel from leaving his room, the young master was fully recovered and was able to get back to his business for the Queen.

"Adalina," Ciel said to the head maid as she served him tea in his study. "I'd like to thank you for tending to me when I fell ill. I know you were not previously aware of my condition, but you still handled it well."

Adalina nodded once to show she had heard him.

"I apologize for you seeing me in such a weak state. But thank you for staying by my side during that time."

Adalina nodded again but couldn't understand how he possibly apologized for having a panic attack after suffering from an awful nightmare. He was still just a child and he had been through so much already. It was only natural for him to have terrible nightmares after enduring such trauma. He didn't have to excuse it.

Of course, she was well aware she should be saying the same thing to herself.

"Once you are finished in here, prepare the carriage. Sebastian and I are heading to London to investigate. Various criminals have been turning up dead in rather gruesome ways. All of them have somehow escaped prison due to mistakes on Scotland Yard's part or they simply haven't been caught before. It appears we have a vigilante on our hands. I don't particularly care, but the Queen insists that London cannot have any vigilantes running about with their own sense of justice. We can't have the citizens losing faith in Scotland Yard's abilities, even though they are perfectly useless. Stay here and take care of the manor until we know what we're dealing with."

Adalina politely curtseyed and left the study with the tea tray. She then went outside and got the carriage ready for transport. Ciel and Sebastian stepped inside, and she watched as they headed off down the road into London.

While she was a bit disappointed that her young master hadn't brought her along, she could understand his hesitation. Things with Daniel had gone very well, but that was because he did not have any prior fighting knowledge. She needed a lot more training before she could go up against someone who actually knew what they were doing.

Sebastian, however, could handle absolutely anything and everything. She didn't need to worry about Ciel as long as Sebastian was with him. He was basically invincible.

Or at least, that's what she had thought before they returned.

Adalina wrote down orders for the servants to complete even though she was well aware that she and Sebastian would most likely have to clean up their messes later. Then she went about doing several daily chores of her own and later practiced the moves Sebastian had been teaching her.

When she heard the carriage returning, she quickly went to the door to prepare for her master's arrival. What she was not prepared for was Sebastian leaning onto the young boy for support as two very large gashes stretched across his chest and various deep cuts covered his arms.

Her eyes widened at the sight. She had never seen Sebastian so much as have a paper cut before. How had such a thing happened to him? Perhaps it was a good thing she had not come along with them. If Sebastian was this injured, she probably would've been killed.

"Adalina, see to him please," Ciel ordered. "Make sure he's all right and that he gets everything he needs."

Adalina quickly curtseyed and took Sebastian from Ciel's grasp. She made him put his arm around her shoulders so she could hold his weight better before she helped him walk to the butler's quarters.

She had never actually been inside Sebastian's room before. He had been in hers, but she had never been in his. The occasion never called for it, and it wasn't like Sebastian kept anything he needed in his room. All he really had in it were his clothes and maybe a few pieces of a paper and writing utensils.

Adalina helped him over to the bed, and he collapsed on top of it with a pained groan. She quickly left the room and ran to the bathroom to retrieve some water, alcohol, cloths and bandages. When she returned, Sebastian's breathing was labored, and he hadn't moved an inch from when she had left.

She lifted her hands to his coat and slowly undid the buttons. He looked like he was uncomfortable with the action, but he didn't stop her. She then loosened his tie before moving it out of the way and unbuttoned his vest and white shirt exposing his very pale skin drenched in red blood. She had half-expected him to be covered in black blood, but it was definitely red albeit a bit darker than normal.

Her stomach did a flip when she saw just how deep the two gashes were, and she let out a small puff of air as she tried to figure out how she was supposed to help him. How was she supposed to take care of injuries on a person who had never gotten injured before? What could she do to heal a demon who always healed himself?

With nothing else to do, she dipped one of the cloths into the water. Then she slowly rubbed the wet fabric across his injured chest. The cloth quickly turned to a deep red color as it soaked up some of the blood.

"It was a Grim Reaper who did this," Sebastian mustered out, sensing her confusion as to how he had gotten injured. "While demons cannot be killed easily, they can be extremely weakened and even killed by Death Scythes especially when dealt multiple blows such as I have endured." Sebastian groaned in pain. "I've never seen a Reaper so fast before. I couldn't even make out his face, but he was definitely the one killing off the criminals. He came at me from behind and stabbed me twice with his Death Scythe. These wounds will heal, but it will take a couple of days rather than a couple of minutes like it normally would."

Adalina put down the now-ruined wet cloth. She picked up another one and began working on the other gash. It was strange to Sebastian so…in pain. She had always assumed him to be unbreakable in a way. But even demons had their limits it seemed.

Adalina gave him an apologetic look before gently rubbing his wound with alcohol to clean it. Sebastian couldn't stop the pained grunt from leaving his lips as his whole body tensed up.

The young woman felt terrible that she had to put him through something so painful, but it wouldn't do anyone any good if his wounds got infected. That is, if they even could get infected.

Once she had cleaned his wounds as best she could, she knew she had to get his back as well seeing as the gashes she had just cleaned were the exit wounds if he had indeed been stabbed from behind. She ever so gently helped Sebastian sit up on his bed. His sheets had turned a very dark red beneath him. She would have to clean those very soon or the stains would never come out, and she could only imagine how Sebastian would feel about that once he was well again.

Very carefully so as not to cause him even more pain, she removed his coat from his shoulders. He winced, but he made no sound. It was so strange to see the normally calm and collected butler in such a state. She didn't even know if she was helping by doing all this for him. Was she causing him more pain for nothing?

She then took his tie off his neck and removed his white shirt and gloves to expose his black nails and contract mark. She could not stop herself from blushing at the complete improperness of this whole situation. But her master had ordered her to care for Sebastian and she was not going to disobey him. She also didn't trust the other servants to care for him. Mey-Rin would explode upon seeing Sebastian shirtless, Finnian might accidently break a bone or two, and Baldroy would rush the whole thing and hurt him more.

She blushed harder when she saw that…Sebastian was much more muscular than she had expected. He had such a lean and slender figure that she was certainly not prepared for the sight that greeted her. Even with the large gashes and cuts, his muscles were still quite defined.

Despite the intense pain, Sebastian couldn't help but smirk as he sensed the emotions coming from her when she looked at him. A part of him didn't want her to see him like this, but another part of him enjoyed making her feel the way she did. Perhaps this was what would help her develop the same kind feelings for him that he had for her.

Adalina climbed up onto the bed so that she was behind him, making sure to avoid the blood stains. She took more wet cloths and cleaned the gashes on his exposed back. She wiped off all the blood—and there was a lot of it—and then rubbed the cloth over his arms and shoulders to clean the cuts. His skin was so very, very cold which she supposed was to be expected. Her face was getting more and more heated as she rubbed the cloth against Sebastian's bare skin. The closest she had even gotten to his skin was when he had removed his gloves in order for him to understand her past, and only on very rare days did he remove his tailcoat. Never before had she seen this much of him. (After all, she had not seen Sebastian when he had used his body heat to warm her up after she had fallen into the lake).

Once she had washed off all of the blood and cleaned the wounds with alcohol, she tossed the cloth away with the others. Then she took the bandages she had brought into the room and wrapped them all around his body until his entire chest was wrapped up.

Afterwards, she helped Sebastian off the bed into the chair by his desk. Her face heated once again at their closeness in his state of undress and the feel of his toned muscles on her body.

She made very, very quick work of changing the blood-drenched sheets so he could rest again. Once his bed had been made and the sheets were out of the room, she helped him from the chair and back on the new sheets.

She took his shoes off for him so he was more comfortable as he rested. Demon or not, lying in bed with shoes on was not comfortable for anyone.

"Inform the young master that I will be sleeping for a little while as it will make the injuries heal faster," Sebastian told her. "He should not worry though. I have suffered much worse in the past."

Adalina gathered all of the ruined cloths and the red-tinted water. Before she could exit the room, she felt a hand on her arm.

"Adalina," the butler said quietly. "Thank you."

Adalina gave him a small smile and nodded a little before departing to let him sleep. Once she had exited the room, she let out a large breath and tried to once again calm her racing heart.

The young woman disposed of the ruined cloths and poured out the water. Then she headed up to her master's study where she had no doubt he was anxiously awaiting news of Sebastian.

She politely knocked on the door until she heard his approval for her to come in.

"Is Sebastian all right?" Ciel asked.

Adalina nodded.

"Have his wounds healed yet?"

She shook her head.

"Did he tell you anything else?"

Seeing that she wasn't responding (nor had he expected her to), he gave her a piece of paper and a pen. She quickly wrote down that Sebastian had told her he would be sleeping until his injuries had healed but that Ciel shouldn't worry.

"I see. You'll have to take over for him until he is recovered then. I know you're more than capable of doing so."

Adalina politely curtseyed before going off to help Baldroy prepare dinner for the young master.

* * *

"Adalina. Adalina."

Adalina quickly opened her eyes upon hearing Ciel's urgent voice. When she sat up a little she realized that Ciel was standing right next to her bed. She quickly pulled the blanket over her chest as her master should not see her in just her nightgown.

Her brow furrowed when she saw just how panicked he looked. Ciel had never, ever come into her room before for anything, and he was _never_ the one to wake her up. It wasn't appropriate for a master to enter a servant's room to wake them.

Sebastian always knocked on her door to get her to wake up. He didn't say anything or even look inside the room. He always knew she had gotten up and was in the process of dressing.

Something had to be wrong.

"It's…it's Sebastian…" Ciel said quietly. "I called for him. I ordered him to come, but he didn't come and he always comes when I order him. It's a rule of our contract. I went to his room to check on him. I…I think he's dead."

Adalina's eyes widened. That was impossible. Sebastian couldn't just die. He said himself he was going to be fine once he slept. He couldn't just be…dead.

She quickly threw off the blanket, not caring about propriety anymore, and wrapped her shawl around her shoulders. Then she quickly followed Ciel to the butler's quarters.

When she entered the room, she wanted to vomit upon the sight of Sebastian. Blood had soaked through the bandages turning them all completely dark red. His arm hung limply off the side of the bed, and his whole body did indeed look lifeless.

Adalina swallowed thickly as she tightened the shawl around her, suddenly feeling very, very cold. She slowly approached Sebastian's bedside, tears forming in her eyes. She leaned over his body and took his head in her hands. His skin was so unnaturally cold…even colder than the day before when she had cleaned the blood off him.

She moved her hand down to his bandaged chest, not caring that her hand got soaked in his blood-drenched bandages. His chest did not move up and down, and she was positive that it had done so while she had cared for him the day before.

The Death Scythe. It had been too much for him to handle.

A small sob escaped from her lips, and that was when Ciel knew.

His butler had been killed.

"Adalina…" he said quietly.

The head maid turned to face him, tears streaming down her face. He could tell she was trying to be strong for him, but all her efforts were for naught. He had no idea she had cared for the butler so much.

"I'd prefer the other servants didn't know about this just yet. It will just cause a panic. I want you to act as normally as possible. As far as they know, Sebastian is still resting from his injuries."

Adalina nodded. Ciel wasn't meeting her eyes, and she couldn't begin to understand how upset he must be. Even if he didn't let on, she knew that he cared about Sebastian and Sebastian cared about him as more than just dinner. Or at least she firmly believed that was the case, and that was good enough for her.

"Make sure they don't see you upset. They cannot know about this. Please take over for him until I can…figure out what to do next…"

Ciel left the room without a glance at her or the butler.

Adalina looked back at Sebastian's dead body. She just didn't understand. How could he be dead? He was a demon, and she had been sure that demons didn't just die like this. Not even if struck by Death Scythes. But what did she know really? She was just a human who had been tossed into this a few weeks ago. She knew nothing.

With another sob, she collapsed to the floor of Sebastian's room, silent tears making their way down her face.

What was she supposed to do now?

Outside the manor, a young Grim Reaper smirked as he watched the scene unfold through the butler's window. He may have just started his work as a Reaper, but already he had rid the world of another demon. Surely Will would be proud of him for that. All it had taken was two blows with his Death Scythe…well, his _stolen_ Death Scythe (it was so much better than that ridiculous and pathetic small little blade Will had given him), and the demon was dead. Now all that was left to do was get rid of that Phantomhive kid.


	13. Chapter 13

Acting as if nothing was wrong was one of the hardest things Adalina had ever had to do. It was almost impossible, but since she had not truly smiled in many years, none of the servants noticed anything different. She managed to hold back her tears in their presence.

She didn't really know what she was supposed to do now. She could never take over for Sebastian. He was capable of doing supernatural things for obvious reasons. She could never do any of that for Ciel.

But that was irrelevant. She may not have his abilities, but she was going to do everything in her power to protect her master to the best of her ability. And that was going to start by helping him find the Grim Reaper responsible for all of this.

For the remainder of the day, she served Ciel his meals and his tea, completed her daily chores, and made sure that she hid her tears in front of him as well. She would be strong for him in the midst of this loss and let him see that she would still take care of him.

However, that night when she was finally alone, all of her built-up tears released. She curled up into a ball on her bed and cried for at least an hour. She fell asleep to swollen eyes and a sore stomach.

When Adalina awoke, she wanted to cry all over again, but she didn't. She forced herself to be strong like she promised herself she would be.

She promptly awoke the young master, helped him dress like a good servant did, and prepared his breakfast for him. Never once did she cry.

"Adalina," Ciel said once his breakfast was finished. "We are going into London today. Perhaps we can find out more about this Reaper vigilante."

Adalina curtseyed and went to prepare the carriage, but she didn't really know what he wanted her to do. If Sebastian hadn't even been able to handle himself against this Reaper, she didn't have a prayer.

But Ciel had ordered it, and Ciel's word was law.

The young boy and his head maid walked through the streets of London, keeping an eye out for any suspicious activity that may give away the rogue Reaper.

"Is that…Ciel Phantomhive?" a voice with a bit of a Cockney accent laughed as the owner pushed up his glasses.

The two of them turned their heads to find a young man with such dark brown hair that it was almost black who looked to be in his early 20's leaning against an alley wall.

"Pleasure to meet you!" the man said with an overdramatic bow.

"Do I know you?" Ciel asked as he walked over to him.

"No, but I know you. Everyone does, of course! The loyal Guard Dog for the Queen! Although, I'm unfamiliar with this lovely lady."

"She's my head maid, Adalina."

"Right pretty little thing she is. But, uh, where's that famous butler you always have by your side? Word on the street is he can do practically anything."

"I'm afraid he's…" Ciel faltered for a moment as Adalina forced back more tears. "He's dead. He was killed a few days ago in a fight with…a suspicious character."

"Oh," the man said sympathetically as he put his head down. "I'm terribly sorry about that."

"Are you?"

The man lifted up his head and smirked. "Not really."

Before Adalina could even grab the whip tied around her waist, she found herself chained to the alley wall with two separate chains holding her wrists up. It all happened so fast that she had no idea how they had even gotten there in the first place. Ciel was chained up next to her in a similar fashion. The entrance to the alley was blurred, and she figured that no one passing by could see what was happening. They had definitely found their Reaper.

"Lukas Everett at your service," the Reaper smiled with another bow. "You, Ciel Phantomhive, have broken the rules of the human world. You have killed and hurt many innocent people and have yet to face any retribution for these actions. Because of that, you are no longer allowed to live. May your judgment be swift and fair."

"A Reaper dealing out his own sense of justice," Ciel smirked. "How kind of you."

"I'm helping London, my good sir. These good-for-nothing criminals deserve to die! They hurt innocent people and were never punished for it! The world is better off without them!"

"Why hunt me down? What have I done to deserve your brand of justice?"

"For one, you have that disgusting demon helping you. Or at least, you did. But I took care of him, and now that's one less demon we Reapers have to worry about."

"I believe I try to help people by delivering criminals in the underworld to the Queen."

"But you don't care who you hurt or kill in the process. And for that, you must be punished."

Adalina watched in horror as he produced his Death Scythe: a very large sickle. She looked up at her chains, trying to see if there was some way she could protect her master, even if it meant that she had to die. Sebastian hadn't been afraid to die for him. She wouldn't be either.

The chains were sloppy and clearly made without much thought. She may not be able to break the chains, but what the chain was hooked to was open. If she could maneuver the chain just right, she could get it to flip off the open hook. It wouldn't get her free, but it would allow her to step in front of Ciel to block the Death Scythe coming towards him. Maybe in that time, he would be able to free himself somehow.

With three hard pulls and then one sharp snap of the chain on her left arm, she flipped the chain off the hook and quickly flung herself in front of Ciel, tightly grabbing onto him to shield him from Lukas's Death Scythe. She waited for the pain that would end her life…but it never came.

When she turned around, there stood Sebastian alive and well, his uniform fully intact with no blood in sight. He had managed to deflect the Death Scythe from hitting either of them. With a butter knife of all things…

"Lukas Everett," Sebastian smirked towards the Reaper. "A new Reaper I see. You're still young yet and are learning your way about the world of reaping souls."

"A clever trap, demon," Lukas smiled. "Pretending to be dead so that I would show my face to the young Phantomhive, and then you could be able to identify me. However, I'm afraid to do anything, you will have to catch me first, and though you are a demon, I am much faster than you as I proved two nights ago."

In the blink of an eye, Lukas had vanished.

Sebastian turned back to Ciel and Adalina and undid their poorly made chains.

"Well, now we have a face and a name," Sebastian said to his young master. "What do you wish to do now, my lord?"

"Let's not involve William just yet," Ciel said. "I'd rather not have to deal with that monotone Reaper who constantly complains about working overtime. And besides, if William gets involved, Grell won't be far behind, and I cannot handle his insufferableness at the moment."

"Agreed."

"We'll deal with Lukas on our own for now. We've gained more information on him now, and hopefully, that will lead us to a way to defeat him."

"Very good, my lord. Shall we return to the manor?"

"Yes, I could go for a good cup of tea."

"Indeed."

* * *

That night, Adalina was preparing for bed when there was a knock on her door. There was only one person who would be coming to her room at this hour.

She hadn't even looked at Sebastian ever since they had gotten back to the manor. She was utterly furious with him for making her a complete wreck for nearly two days when he had been completely fine the whole time.

"Adalina?" Sebastian said cautiously, seeing her back was to him.

Without warning, Adalina quickly turned around and flung her whip at Sebastian. He caught the weapon with his arm before it reached his face.

Adalina smiled a little (Sebastian almost thought she looked a little…seductive?) and pulled the whip so that he was closer to her to the point where he could easily steal a kiss from her if he so desired. He was sharply pulled out of those thoughts when Adalina pulled her hand back and smacked him as hard as she could on the face.

Sebastian chuckled a little. The young woman was certainly not afraid of him anymore. Very few people had the courage to slap a demon.

"I see you are quite upset with me."

Adalina furiously nodded.

"The young master and I agreed that we should keep you out of this plan so that your reaction to my death would be genuine. He wanted to leave the servants out of all this because we could not so easily explain my sudden reappearance to them as we can to you. We knew that Lukas was watching over the manor to see if he had killed me. The young master's reaction wasn't enough, so we needed yours as well. And it worked, didn't it? He truly believed I was dead."

Sebastian could still sense the anger flowing from her.

"I apologize for not telling you about our plan. We were afraid Lukas would not be convinced by your reaction unless you believed I was really dead."

She raised an eyebrow at him.

"I'm not saying I doubt your ability to successfully convince him if you had known I was really alive…but…"

The butler quickly realized he had dug himself into a very deep hole.

He smirked a little. "I have to say…I did not expect you to shed so many tears over me. Would you have shed that many tears had you been in on the plan?"

Adalina rolled her eyes. She wasn't in the mood for this.

"I didn't think so. Don't fret. From now on, the young master and I will involve you in all our plans to catch Lukas."

Adalina narrowed her eyes at him.

"I promise. Have a good night, Adalina." Just before he left, he called back, "Oh, and one more thing. If it makes any difference, I didn't enjoy hearing you cry."

With another smirk, Sebastian left the room.

As the demon butler went upstairs to prepare his young master for bed, he thought back over the past couple of days.

* * *

 _Sebastian sat in the carriage, his face contorted into one of pain, an expression he did not wear often._

 _Ciel had never seen Sebastian so injured before. It was rather frightening. He knew very well that it was possible to kill a demon with a Death Scythe, but Sebastian was usually so skillful about avoiding the deadly weapon._

 _The fact that this Reaper was faster than him was a huge problem._

 _"_ _Will you be all right?" he asked his butler tentatively._

 _"_ _I believe so. Once I clean these wounds and get some rest, I should be fine. I need time to heal."_

 _"_ _Take all the time you need."_

 _"_ _Why, young master, are you concerned about me?"_

 _Ciel rolled his eyes. Even in this state, the butler could still tease him. "That Death Scythe could've killed you."_

 _"_ _Like I said, I will be fine."_

 _"_ _I can't do anything if I don't know what the Reaper's name is or what he looks like. Do you think he would show himself if he thought you were dead? He was after me as much as he was after you. If he believed you were dead, then he would get arrogant and reveal himself to me."_

 _"_ _It's a long shot, but it could work."_

 _"_ _He'll be watching you to see if he killed you. You will need to pretend to die from these wounds."_

 _"_ _It will not be difficult, sir. But how will he know he's killed me?"_

 _"_ _If he's watching you, he'll see anyone reacting to your death. It won't be enough for him to just see me though. He'll have to see Adalina as well."_

 _"_ _Shall we inform her of this plan?"_

 _"_ _No. I want her reaction to be genuine."_

 _"_ _That's rather cruel of you, my lord."_

 _"_ _If this suits our purpose, it has to be done. She'll get over it eventually."_

 _Sebastian didn't really approve of his young master putting Adalina through something like that, but he had his orders which meant he had no say in the matter._

 _When they returned to the manor, Sebastian allowed Adalina to clean his wounds. Her touch was so gentle, something he rarely experienced. He made sure to move his chest up and down to give her the illusion that he was breathing. That way, she would think that he had stopped breathing when he didn't move his chest later._

 _The next morning after Sebastian had rested and felt much better, he saw that the bandages Adalina had wrapped around his chest were soaked in his blood. It was repulsive to lay in them, but this would help Adalina believed he had died._

 _He sensed the young master and the head maid approaching the room and closed his eyes._

 _What he sensed from Adalina surprised him. It was something that went beyond sadness. When she touched his face and chest, the emotion intensified and he heard her sob quietly._

 _Ciel gave her instructions to pretend as if everything was normal. Once Ciel was gone, he heard Adalina sob freely as she went to the ground. The awful sound hurt Sebastian's chest. He had never felt such an emotion before, and he wasn't exactly sure there was a proper name for it. He just knew that he never wanted to feel it again._

 _Sebastian sensed Lukas's presence outside the manor disappear, and he briefly smiled. Their plan had been successful._

 _Once Adalina had left as well, he sat up and removed the blood-drenched bandages from his chest._

 _The things he did for his master._

 _That night, his supernatural hearing picked up Adalina's cries before she fell asleep. The mysterious painful emotion from before returned to him, but it hurt more than it had previously. He went down to her room and put his hand to the doorknob. But he was physically unable to turn the knob because doing so would be against his order. He lightly pressed his hand against the door, hearing Adalina's cries from within._

 _Sebastian usually treated humans in whatever way was appropriate to get what he wanted. If he needed information, he could seduce someone. If that didn't work, he could use intimidation. If he needed someone to cooperate who was afraid, he was gentle with them. If he needed something to get done fast, he was firm and strict._

 _But lately, he found himself being gentle and loving towards Adalina when he got nothing out of it._

 _Right now, he just wanted to go into her room and hold her in his arms so she could know that he would never leave her like this. Unfortunately, he had his orders. She had to stay in the dark for now._

 _But with every cry he heard, it hurt him just a little bit more._

* * *

Adalina looked at her closed door. She couldn't help but think about what Sebastian had said to her. She _had_ been extremely upset at the thought of him being dead. But _why_ had she been so distraught? Sure, the two of them were very close, but not enough to warrant the amount of tears she shed for him. She had never cried so much in her life which was saying something considering where she had spent so much of her time prior to becoming a Phantomhive servant.

The more she thought about it, the more she realized that…she cared for Sebastian more than she had initially believed. He was the only one who really knew her desires and her wants. He was the only one who had been able to see her past with his own eyes.

He was the only one who understood her.


	14. Chapter 14

"Adalina, I need you to go to my townhouse," Ciel ordered. "I'm afraid I left some of my belongings there the last time I stayed, and I need them. Take Sebastian with you. There's a Grim Reaper out and about with his sights set on me which probably means he has his sights set on you too, and I'd rather not have a repeat of what happened the last time you went to town by yourself."

Adalina curtseyed, fully agreeing with him, even though she wasn't too keen on being alone with Sebastian at the moment. Despite her revelation last night, she still wasn't happy about being kept out of the plan to fake his death.

She was just as angry with Ciel if not more so, but seeing as he was her master, she couldn't do anything about it. He hadn't apologized and a part of her didn't really expect him to. He did what he believed had to be done, so why would he be sorry about it?

For that reason, she took all of her anger out on Sebastian since she didn't have a problem showing just how upset she was to him.

The carriage ride was silent, but it wasn't uncomfortable silence. After all, both servants were used to silent carriage rides.

Sebastian looked at Adalina staring longingly out the window. He could sense wishfulness coming from her.

He smiled a little as he made the carriage stop. Adalina looked over at him in confusion.

"Why don't we walk to the townhouse from here?"

The young woman smiled a little at the prospect of being able to explore London a little while she was out, forgetting that she was supposed to be mad at him. Very rarely did she ever get to go to the city and when she did, there was little time for looking around as Ciel always had a purpose and a destination in mind. Neither he nor Sebastian wanted to deviate from their schedule.

Adalina and Sebastian got out of the carriage and began to walk down the streets towards Ciel's townhouse. Both of them kept a sharp eye out for Lukas in case he tried anything again.

A man with a dog started walking in their direction. The dog happily ran up to Adalina.

Sebastian grimaced. Dogs were insufferable creatures and how anyone could own one was still a mystery to him.

Now cats were another matter all together.

"I'm so sorry, ma'am!" the man said quickly as he tried to pull the dog away from her. "He doesn't usually just run up to people."

Adalina smiled a little at the man before kneeling down and petting the dog's head and rubbing her hand over his fur. The dog eagerly licked her face.

And then Sebastian witnessed something amazing.

Adalina began laughing.

Sebastian had never seen her truly smile much less laugh. It was quiet laughter, but it was the first sound he had ever heard leave her lips that wasn't sad or scared.

Her laugh was so…pure. So beautiful. He felt that a being like him wasn't even worthy of hearing her laughter.

…Perhaps dogs weren't so bad.

Adalina stood up and smiled at the dog's owner.

"He really likes you," the man laughed. "I don't know what it is about you, but he certainly likes you."

Adalina and Sebastian continued going down the street as the man with the dog continued on.

"I have never heard you laugh before," Sebastian remarked.

Adalina looked up at him with a small smile. She couldn't remember the last time she had laughed. She had forgotten the feeling of pure bliss and happiness.

It felt really, really nice.

The two of them made it to the townhouse and were eagerly greeted by the two Indian occupants.

"Adalina!" Prince Soma cried as he ran forward and hugged the young woman. "What are you doing here?"

"We need to retrieve some things for the young master that he left here," Sebastian answered for her.

Soma shrank back a little bit as he saw the butler looking at him. "Oh, hello, Sebastian."

Sebastian bowed at the waist. "Good afternoon, Prince Soma."

At that moment, Prince Soma's butler, Agni, came forward with his sleeves rolled up to the elbows. He had probably been working in the kitchen to prepare lunch.

He smiled broadly and put his hands together. "Namaste jī," he said as he bowed as well. "Hello, Miss Adalina, Sebastian."

"Good afternoon, Agni," Sebastian said.

"If I had known you were coming, I would've prepared something."

"There is no need for that. We shall not be here for very long."

"Nevertheless, would either of you like some tea before you leave?"

"I'm perfectly fine, but perhaps Adalina would like some."

Adalina smiled a little at Agni and nodded.

Agni clapped his hands together again. "Excellent. I will have some made momentarily."

"I shall retrieve what the young master needs," Sebastian stated to the head maid. "If you would wait for me in the drawing room."

Adalina curtseyed and moved towards the said room. Soma followed her like a puppy, and she couldn't help but smile.

She could still remember the first time they had met Prince Soma. The teenager had been extremely annoying and acted incredibly entitled and very similar to a spoiled child. However, for reasons she could not fully understand, his demeanor had completely changed by the end of his stay at the Phantomhive Manor. He and Agni now took care of Ciel's townhouse.

Seeing as this had occurred before she knew of Sebastian's true identity, there were many gaps missing from the duration of his stay. She did remember attending the curry-cooking competition and a third of the attendees losing their minds, but she still didn't exactly know how that had happened or how it had been fixed. It had something to do with the curry Sebastian had made. Looking back at that event with her new knowledge, such a thing was almost laughable. A demon made curry that had reversed the effects of whatever evil thing had caused them to become violent.

Soma had loved Adalina immediately. He kept trying to make her talk, but he never succeeded. He had actually ordered her to once which nearly made her have a heart attack since she didn't want to refuse a prince's order. But all the same, it was an order she could not obey. Luckily, Sebastian had come to her rescue and informed him that she simply did not speak.

Nevertheless, Soma definitely looked up to her and tried to ease her mind and make her smile. While he didn't get her to give a full smile, he did manage to get a very small one from her which was a win by his definition.

Since then, Soma tried to be more like her by being calm and obedient towards what Ciel asked of him. So far, he had much success and the townhouse looked excellent. He was quickly maturing into a wonderful young man.

Agni also admired Adalina for her incredible obedience and resolve despite her muteness. It struck him as odd that Ciel would hire a mute, but he supposed that as long as the necessary jobs got done, any defects were irrelevant. Like he had told Sebastian when they had first met, everyone had gifts given to them by the gods, and she was no exception. Ciel and Sebastian had chosen to see her for those gifts rather than her flaws.

"How is Ciel?" Soma asked excitedly as he sat across from her. "I have not seen him in so long. He must be busy."

Adalina nodded several times. He certainly had his hands full at the moment with this Grim Reaper…

"Do you enjoy working for him?"

She nodded again. It was better than the alternative.

"It was so nice of him to let us stay here. And we got to take care of him when he had gotten sick. I am usually the one being taken care of…but I did not mind taking care of someone else."

That was kind of cute.

"Even though Ciel is the hardest person to take care of when he's sick."

Adalina widened her eyes and nodded. Nothing had been truer.

"Is working with Sebastian scary?"

Adalina smiled a little and shook her head. It wasn't anymore at least. She didn't know how to let him know that she had been terrified of him a few weeks ago and in fear of her life.

Agni came into the room with a cup and a saucer. "Miss Adalina, your tea."

Adalina politely took the cup from him. It was strange to be the one served instead of the one serving. But the break was really nice, even if it was only for a few minutes.

And truth be told…she kind of liked getting to travel alone with Sebastian.

"Adalina, are you ready to go?" Sebastian asked as he stepped inside.

"Are you sure you don't want anything before you leave?" Agni said to him.

"No, I am all right, I insist. The house looks excellent by the way. I see you've both been taking very good care of it."

Agni bowed to him. "Thank you very much. That means a great deal coming from a _khansama_ such as yourself."

Adalina finished off her tea and stood up. Agni turned and took the cup and saucer from her. She politely curtseyed to both of the men before heading towards Sebastian. Suddenly, she was grabbed from behind by Soma. She stumbled forward a little bit at the extra weight on her back.

"Thanks for stopping by!" he exclaimed. "Please come back soon! It can get quite lonely here with just the two of us!"

Sebastian smiled at them. "We shall return once our master has need of this place again."

"Well, I hope that is soon! Good-bye for now."

Adalina and Sebastian left the townhouse and began making their way back to London so they could get back on the carriage.

They had just made it to the town when Sebastian suddenly felt something cup around his wrist. He looked down at his arm, and his eyes widened.

"Adalina."

Adalina looked up at the butler.

"Run."

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Now."

Understanding that something had to be wrong when he used such a tone with her, she turned and started running in the opposite direction.

Suddenly, an arm wrapped around her waist and spun her around. She found she was looking right into the green eyes of Lukas. She went for her whip, but he stopped her and put a chain around her wrist.

"Nice try, little girl."

He began pulling her behind him until they were back by Sebastian.

"Unless you wanna make a scene and let everyone here know what you really are, I suggest you come with me," Lukas smirked.

Curse that Reaper. How had he found out about demon chains? Not even Grell knew about demon chains, and he had been a Reaper for much longer than Lukas.

Sebastian and Adalina had no choice but to follow Lukas down the street. Sebastian couldn't do anything as long as the chain was around him, and Adalina certainly couldn't do anything.

Lukas led them down an old passageway beneath the shops of London. When they reached the end, Adalina's eyes widened in fear.

This was a torture chamber.


	15. Chapter 15

"Brought them," Lukas smiled to another man. He chained Sebastian to the wall with the demon chains, taking extra care to make sure that he couldn't just break out of them. He then used rope to tie Adalina's hands behind her and attach her to a low hook on the other wall. "You can do whatever you want to them. You'll get paid extra if they share anything useful on the Phantomhive kid."

"Why don't you just go kill him now while they're both here?" the other man asked.

"Do you want more money or not?"

"All right, all right. I'll see what I can get out of 'em."

"Good. I'll be back some time this evening." Before Lukas left, he said quietly to the man, "I want that demon dead."

Lukas left the chamber and the other man smirked at them. He looked over at Sebastian. "So you're the demon I've heard so much about. This should be fun." He then looked at Adalina. "And the head maid. Let's get that whip off you now." The torturer went over to her and untied the whip from around her waist. "I could use one of these."

"I can tell you right now that neither of us will be giving up any information," Sebastian said. "I've survived much worse than anything you could do, and that young woman cannot possibly give you anything."

"You'd be surprised what I can squeeze out of people. Why don't I start with you? Now, seeing as you're a demon and all, when's the last time you've eaten a soul?"

"Not that it is any of your business, but it has indeed been a while."

"You could go out and eat any soul you want from any person you want, couldn't you? Why not just do that?"

"I grow weary of just any soul. I crave the beautiful tortured soul belonging to the master I currently serve. I shall wait as long as I must for such a sweet-tasting soul."

"I can't imagine how hungry you must be now."

"The hungrier I am, the more delectable the meal will be."

"I'm sure. Well, I've heard from Lukas that you can feel physical pain, and in such a state of hunger, that will make what I'm about to do feel even worse."

The torturer smiled sadistically and began using Adalina's whip on him. Adalina tried to move and go to him, but the ropes were tied very tightly and she could not escape as easily as she had before when protecting Ciel.

Sebastian looked over at her, seeing her struggle against her bindings. She had intense desperation on her face as she tried to get over to him.

Perhaps she cared more for him than he realized.

The torturer forced Sebastian's coat and shirt open and continued to whip him. His skin turned red with each lash and eventually his skin began to break. Dark red blood flowed down his chest, intermingling with beads of sweat.

Adalina fell to her knees and turned away. She could not watch this, even if she knew that he would be fine in the end. It still made her feel horrible to watch him endure something so painful.

After several minutes of that, the torturer came over to Adalina. He took her head in his hand and forced her to look up at him.

"Do the two of you have something going on? I don't think you would react like that if you didn't."

"We are nothing more than two servants who work for Lord Phantomhive," Sebastian told him. "Romantic attraction is not appropriate between two servants. And demons cannot love. It is as simple as that."

"Let's test that, huh? We'll see how you feel once I get to work on her."

The torturer put down the whip and picked up a poker than had been sitting by a small fire. He took a firm hold of Adalina's arm and set the end of the poker down onto her bare skin.

Tears formed in Adalina's eyes and she opened her mouth as if she was screaming, but nothing came out. When she looked towards Sebastian, there was nothing but indifference on his face. Surely he cared about her enough to react at least a little, right? Did he really not care about her at all? Was he truly as unfeeling as he said he was?

The torturer looked at her in confusion. Then he looked up at Sebastian. "Is she a mute?"

Sebastian didn't answer.

The torturer laughed. "Well, how about that? No matter. I like a challenge. When I'm through with you, I'll have heard a nice loud scream come from that mouth."

He took up the whip again and began to strike Adalina over and over again. Never once did she cry out. Sebastian recalled that she had trained herself to never make a noise, even when experiencing intense pain. If she did, something worse than what she was already experiencing followed.

The skin on her shoulder quickly broke after the third lash in that location, and there had to be at least one more laceration on her chest. She could feel wet blood seeping through her dress. Her own weapon used against her.

For a moment, she was back in the house where she had been held captive, whipped for stealing food to give to the other girls. She had to force back the bile rising in her throat, remembering her promise to never react in such a way again when she remembered her time in captivity.

She thought that when she had escaped, she wouldn't have to endure something like this ever again. She had been wrong.

The man laughed a little as he came up to her and kicked her knee as hard as he could. Her mouth opened wide again as she felt her knee dislocate and she took shallow breaths, feeling the pain stretch throughout her entire leg.

He then removed her shoes from her feet along with the short tights she had worn to go with her uniform and pulled up the skirt of her dress. Since she now had a dislocated limb, she could not move her leg to stop him from what he was doing.

With a smile, he used the whip on the bare flesh of her legs. It stung a lot and she could tell that more of her skin had broken on her thigh. Her knee tensed up each time the whip striked her, causing a wave of pain to shoot up her body.

The torturer looked at the small fire and began muttering unintelligible curses. "My fire's gone low. Can't use a poker with that. I'll be back in a moment to gather some more coals. Don't go anywhere."

The man laughed at his own joke before exiting the chamber.

"Adalina," Sebastian said firmly. She looked up at him weakly. "You need to scream. The torture will only get worse and worse until he hears you scream. If you just scream, he may stop torturing you for a while and come back to me. I can handle it, and you cannot."

Adalina looked away from him. She wouldn't scream. She couldn't scream. She just couldn't. But Sebastian was probably right. Unlike her previous situations, she was only going to get hurt more and more until she screamed. But she was afraid that even if she screamed, he wouldn't stop. He would want to hear more.

It wasn't long until the man returned with a sick grin on his face. "Let's resume, shall we? I believe I was in the process of getting you to scream."

He heated up the fire and after a few moments, he picked up his glowing poker.

"Perhaps if I use this on your eyes, I'll get a scream. If not, I'll have made a blind mute. Good luck doing anything or finding anymore work like that."

Adalina squirmed nervously as he began to approach her with the poker in his hand.

* * *

Ciel walked down the stairs of the manor. "Finny," he called to his gardener. "Have Sebastian and Adalina returned yet?"

"Not yet, young master. Is something wrong?"

"No, go back to your chores."

"Yes, sir."

Ciel checked the two servants' rooms just in case, but they were nowhere to be found. They should've been back a while ago, and Sebastian was never one to deviate from his schedule. This was the demon who had apologized and was practically ready to kill himself (were that possible) for not having dinner ready when he had returned from saving his kidnapped young master.

Something had to be very wrong for them to be this late.

Ciel returned to his study and removed his eye patch. "Sebastian, this is an order. Come here right now."

* * *

The torturer stopped walking towards Adalina when he heard quiet laughing.

Adalina looked over at Sebastian to see his glove glowing purple with his contract symbol showing through the white fabric. He was laughing in a way she had never heard from him. It sent a chill down her spine.

"These are demon chains," he laughed, "and while they can indeed hold me, what Lukas did not know is that the order of a contract is stronger than the power of these chains. If these chains inhibit that order, then…"

The torturer's eyes widened in horror as Sebastian broke free of the chains.

"I can no longer be bound by them."

The man dropped the poker and began backing away from the intimidating demon.

"Adalina, look away," Sebastian ordered, his eyes glowing pink.

Adalina obediently turned her head and closed her eyes.

"Torturing a woman is quite terrible in itself," she heard the butler say calmly. "Torturing a mute is simply cruel."

The sharp clack of shoes echoed throughout the chamber.

"You wanted to hear a scream, did you not?"

Adalina winced as she heard the man's pained cries and screams along with the disgusting sound of flesh ripping and tearing. His cries slowly died down until she could just hear Sebastian's breathing.

"Keep your eyes closed," Sebastian said to her.

She nodded as she felt him untie her ropes before placing his gloved hands on her knee. With one quick jerk, he pushed her dislocated knee back into place. Adalina pressed her hand to her mouth as a tear ran down her cheek from the pain.

She opened her eyes when she felt a hand on her face, wiping the tear away. Sebastian knelt in front of her, his clothes buttoned and all injuries gone.

"It is over," he said to her.

He gently hefted her up into his arms, being extra careful not to irritate any of her injuries, especially her sore knee.

"Keep your eyes on me."

Adalina obeyed his request and did not turn her head away from him. She never looked away, and she did not see the remains of the man who had tortured them. She was quite sure she did not want to.

Sebastian carried her out of the passageway and into the evening light outside.

"Hold on tight."

Adalina put her arms around his neck as he began flying through the air. She kept her eyes on him, and for some reason, she did not feel as afraid as she usually did when he did this with her. Instead, she felt…calmed.

Sebastian longed to hold Adalina in his arms when she wasn't hurt or scared or injured. He wanted her to fully appreciate the feel of him holding her close to him.

He wanted to see her smile and laugh again.

Sebastian landed right inside Ciel's study and set Adalina down on the ground. "So sorry for taking this long, my lord."

Ciel's eye widened at the sight of his head maid. "What on earth happened to the both of you?"

"It appears Lukas knew about demon chains," Sebastian explained. "I don't know how he found out about those, but he did, and he was able to capture the both of us."

"For what purpose?"

"I believe he wanted information about you. But the hired torturer took things a bit too far when he realized Adalina is a mute."

"As much as I hate to admit it, we may need to get William involved. Lukas is turning out to be more than any of us can handle. But we'll worry about it tomorrow. Adalina, clean up those cuts. The last thing we need right now is you getting an infection."

Adalina curtseyed and returned to the head maid's quarters. She retrieved some bandages along with alcohol and cream that she could apply to the cuts on her shoulder, legs, and chest and the burn on her arm. She slipped off the top of her dress, revealing her white chemise she had on underneath. Then she took a seat on her bed.

She had just finished applying alcohol to the cut on her chest when a soft knock on the door made her quickly pull her blanket up to cover her upper half. Sebastian slowly stepped in with a small bow.

"Forgive me, I know this is completely improper of me, but I know that you cannot care for all of your injuries on your own. While Mey-Rin is the only one who should see you like this, I am quite certain you cannot trust her to not make things worse."

Adalina smiled a little and reluctantly moved the blanket. She couldn't help but blush at the fact that Sebastian was seeing her in her chemise.

"I have something for you."

She smiled a little as he procured her whip. He set it down on the desk for her.

Sebastian moved towards her and removed his gloves to reveal his usual black nails and contract symbol. He knelt down and touched her leg.

"May I?"

Adalina looked at him for a moment before slowly nodding.

He lifted up her dress past her knee so he could reach all of the cuts the whip had caused. There was a very deep one sitting halfway up her thigh. He warmed up his hands before taking the alcohol and gently rubbing it on the wound.

The young woman could not stop her face from heating up at the small action. She was so embarrassed, she couldn't even focus on how much the alcohol stung the injury.

"I know you must be wondering why I didn't react to you being tortured," he said as he rubbed her leg. "I was afraid that if that man saw that torturing you had an effect on me, he would increase the intensity of what he was doing. So I had to make it look like I didn't care. But in truth, I was very worried about you. I know that tonight probably brought back many unfortunate memories."

He tied a bandage around the cut and stood up again. Then he moved the white strap that was covering the injury on her shoulder. The strap ended up falling off her shoulder which made Adalina blush harder.

She winced as he gently rubbed alcohol on the injury before bandaging it up as well.

"If you would turn around, I'll secure a bandage around the injury on your chest. I won't see anything, and it's the only way you will be able to get it properly covered."

Adalina slowly stood up and turned around. Her face heating up again, she removed the straps of her chemise so Sebastian could put a bandage around her chest.

Sebastian's eyes widened for a moment when he saw two pale lines on her back that were from very old injuries. They must've come from the multiple lashes she had suffered in that location. His anger flared up again, and he realized that he had not given those men who had taken her a painful enough death.

He lightly traced the scars with his finger. It sent a shiver down Adalina's spine. Sebastian smiled when he saw bumps rise up on her skin and heard her heartbeat increase.

The head maid secured the bandages in the right place on the cut on her chest and Sebastian tied it up for her in the back. She then quickly put her straps back on.

"Now I believe that just your arm is left, correct?"

Adalina nodded, and he immediately began rubbing the cream onto the second-degree burn she had sustained on her arm from the poker.

Once everything had been properly cleaned and taken care of, Adalina felt her heartbeat escalating to a pace she didn't even know it could get to. She had a feeling Sebastian noticed that too. He noticed everything.

She looked up at him and nervously bit her lip as she met his eyes.

"I truly apologize for these injuries, Adalina," he said to her. "You were never meant to get caught up in such things. I swear to you, Lukas will pay dearly for this."

To her surprise, Sebastian put his bare hand to the side of her face. His thumb traced her undamaged skin, and she gently put her hand over top of his, never breaking eye contact with him.

His head leaned towards her, and she felt his lips press against her jawline and travel down towards her collarbone. Her hand pressed to the back of his head and entangled into his unnaturally soft jet black hair. As his kisses moved to her shoulder, she grasped his hair in her hand and closed her eyes.

Sebastian gently pushed her down onto the bed while supporting her weight with his arm and climbed up so that he was on top of her, still pressing kisses to her exposed flesh.

Her head turned to the side while his lips moved to her other shoulder and moved in the reverse direction as he went up to her neck. Her hand grasped onto his hair while her other arm wrapped under his own arm so she could hold onto his shoulder.

She could feel his hand slowly slide up her hip, taking her dress with it. His other hand pressed into her side and moved to her back. She clutched onto him tighter, relishing the feeling of having his lips touch her skin and his bare hands cling to her body.

Adalina didn't know if it was because he was beginning to hurt her or if she suddenly realized that she was having an extremely intimate moment with a demon, but she abruptly put her hands to his chest and pushed him away. She took heaving breaths as she looked up at him. Nervousness swept over her when she saw his eyes glowing the brightest she had ever seen them. Then the pink slowly faded and was replaced with the usual crimson.

He moved off the bed, and she quickly sat up as fast as her injuries would allow.

"My apologies if I made you uncomfortable," Sebastian told her. "It was not my intention."

She looked away as she adjusted the misplaced chemise straps, her face flaming.

"I shall go to prepare dinner. You must be hungry."

When Sebastian left, Adalina put her hand to her head and ran it through her hair. She attempted to process what exactly had just taken place.

Sebastian had begun to kiss her body, and she realized that…she had actually liked it. It was not like the last time. There had been no…meaning or feeling behind his words or his actions. This time, he didn't need to say anything for her to enjoy his touch and desire more of it.

But she couldn't allow this. He said himself in the torture chamber that demons didn't love. So that meant that he couldn't possibly be in love with her.

That was what confused her. If he couldn't love, why had he initiated such contact with her?

Whatever his reasons were, one thing was certain. Adalina knew with all her heart that she had feelings for Sebastian Michaelis.


	16. Chapter 16

Sebastian's mind was uncharacteristically not completely focused as he worked around the manor doing his daily chores while trying to work out what to do about Lukas.

All he could think about was his interaction with Adalina the night before. He loved the feelings of their bodies touching as his hands rubbed up and down her curves and his lips touched her skin. He had done so with multiple women in the past, but it was the first time he had ever actually enjoyed it and didn't have an ulterior motive with his actions. Touching her like that was what he wanted to do for so long. He had been very unhappy when she had stopped him.

However, he had forced himself to pull it together for her sake though it was a severe test of his control. As much as he hated having to cease the moment, he didn't want to force anything onto her for fear that she would pull away from him again. If he had to wait even longer to be able to touch her again, he might go insane.

He wasn't exactly sure why she had stopped him. He had been able to sense how much she liked what he was doing, and yet…she still stopped him.

Was he reading something wrong?

That was impossible. He did not read humans wrong.

"Sebastian."

Sebastian spun around and flung a silver butter knife at the voice behind him. He was surprised to find a young brown-haired woman lying on her back on one of the couches. She was wearing an extremely short white skirt with a revealing black shirt that dipped rather low in a V-neck cut but hugged her very tiny form so that he couldn't see anything that the shirt didn't cover even if she bent down. There were no shoes covering her feet. There was a small very messy bun on top of her head while the rest of her hair ran all the way down her back. She was smiling at him with the knife between two of her fingers.

"There's no need for that, now is there?" she said with a clear American accent as she tossed the knife away.

"Who are you?" he demanded, wondering why he hadn't sensed her presence before now.

The woman smiled at him as she seductively crossed her legs, toes pointed. "I am an Oracle. I'm here to help you make sense of some things."

"You mean with the Grim Reaper?"

The Oracle laughed a little. "I mean with more…personal matters."

"What are you talking about?"

The Oracle sat up on the couch to face him. "Your feelings for Adalina."

"How do you know about that?"

With a smirk, she lay down sideways on the couch with her hand supporting her head. "I know everything."

"How is it possible that I have these feelings? Demons are not capable of love."

"It is not unheard of, Sebastian. There are several cases of demons falling in love for various reasons under all kinds of circumstances. I have to say, it's very rare for a demon to fall in love with a human. It's even rarer for a demon to fall in love with one who is pure of heart."

Sebastian looked at the woman. "She's what?"

The Oracle stood up from the couch. "Adalina is not an ordinary human. She is a human who is pure of heart. Demons usually repel and reject things that are pure of heart. That's why despite her pure soul, you were never drawn to her. Nevertheless, in your case, you fell in love with her."

"How?"

"When you connected with her, you shared more than just her memories. You shared her ability to feel. You shared…each other."

"I've shared memories with humans before and this has never happened."

"Those humans were not pure of heart like she is."

The more Sebastian thought about that, the more it made sense. He had only shared memories with people he was contracted to, and anyone who was willing to sell their soul to a demon certainly did not qualify as pure of heart.

He had begun to have feelings for Adalina immediately after sharing her memories, and he distinctly remembered having a strange feeling the moment they disconnected and the feeling only growing as time went on.

The Oracle put her hands behind her back and walked a bit of a distance away from him before saying coyly, "If it helps, she returns your affections."

Sebastian's brow furrowed in confusion. "How can she be pure of heart if she is attracted to a demon?"

She turned back around to face him and slowly walked back over to him. "Purity doesn't mean perfection. And in any case, she is drawn to _you_. Not that which makes you a demon. She is drawn to your willingness to protect her. She is drawn to the part of you that is gentle with her. She is drawn to the part of you that truly does care for Ciel, and we both know it's there. She is drawn to the way you make her feel safe. She is drawn to you because you are the only one who understands her even though she does not speak."

The Oracle spryly hopped up onto the couch and sat on the back of it. Sebastian flinched at the sight of her bare feet on the furniture.

"And this is just me talking here, but I think if she knew how much control you exhibit around her in order to not upset her or make her uncomfortable, she'd be drawn to you even more. I'm serious, you really have the most control I have ever seen from a demon. A good majority of demons would've killed Adalina the moment they saw her because she is a pure of heart being. You must've trained yourself to not be affected by pure beings. It's the only way you could've lasted this long."

"If all of that is true, is it even possible for a being like me to be with someone like her?"

"It is possible, but it will require great sacrifice."

"What do you mean? What must I do?"

"In order to be with Adalina, you will have to give up your life as a demon…and become like her."

"You mean…I have to become human?"

"Yes."

The mere thought of becoming something as low as a human was disgusting to him. How could he possibly become part of the species he despised? He found humans rather interesting as he studied their desires and actions, but actually becoming one was another matter altogether.

"You said she is drawn to me because I understand her," he clarified. "I understand her because I can sense her emotions which helps me guess what she is thinking."

"You can do that as a human to some degree. You can do all of the things she is drawn to you for even as a human to some degree. Especially with the right persuasion." When Sebastian didn't answer, she added, "I know what you're thinking. Because you're a demon, you could just do something to darken her heart so she won't be pure anymore and then you won't have to become human. Sorry, but it doesn't work like that. She would have to do something herself to darken her own heart, but if she does end up doing whatever that may be, it will break her completely. She'll never be the same. I would keep that in mind."

"How…how would I even go about becoming a human?" he asked.

"Adalina must kiss you of her own free will, and you must be willing and ready to accept the change. You must know that you only get one chance. If the transformation does not occur on the first kiss, the both of you will be forever doomed to live apart as separate beings for eternity."

"But…what if after I change…she decides she doesn't want to be with me, or I do not want to be with her any longer?"

The Oracle hopped down from the couch. "That is a risk you must be willing to take. You must decide if she is worth it."

Sebastian looked down for barely a second, and when he looked back up, the Oracle was gone.

He had heard of Oracles like her before, but he never thought that he would actually meet one. Oracles were creatures who rarely made appearances in the human world or any other, so not much was known about them or their abilities. He did know that they were even cockier than demons due to their extensive knowledge. The major difference between them was that they actually cared about the human race.

His mind obsessed over everything she had told him. How was he supposed to choose between Adalina and staying a demon? It was an impossible decision. Did he really love her enough to sacrifice all of the power he so desired?

* * *

Adalina's mind had been spinning ever since her little moment with Sebastian. She didn't know how she felt about actually _enjoying_ the feel of his lips and hands on her. For one thing, she was pretty sure that he did not have feelings for her. How could he? It wasn't possible.

Why did she even like his touch? She hadn't enjoyed it even remotely before, so what was different about now?

What was different was all the times he had saved her life. All the times he had done everything he could to protect her. All the times he was gentle with her in everything he did. How he made her feel as if her life mattered. How he made her wish that she could speak so that she could tell him just how much he really meant to her.

But that just made her nervous. She knew that he had very…interesting interrogation methods as she had managed to find out his way of getting information out of some girl in a circus. She didn't want to be just another woman who had fallen prey to his charms.

What if that was all last night was? What if everything he had done was just a way for him to gain something in the end?

But…that hadn't been what it _felt_ like…

"Adalina."

Without thinking, Adalina grabbed her whip and flung it at the mysterious voice behind her. A brown-haired woman caught the whip in her hand.

"Why is everyone in this manor so violent?!" the woman exclaimed.

Adalina looked at the woman in front of her, wondering how exactly she had gotten past Sebastian and why she was dressed so completely improperly.

"Let me just cut to the chase," the woman said to her as she let go of the whip and placed her hands on her hips. "I'm an Oracle, and I'm here to help you figure out your feelings for Sebastian."

Adalina creased her eyebrows together.

"Oh, and I can hear your thoughts so I can communicate with you that way since I know you're not exactly fond of speaking."

 _You're an Oracle?_ Adalina thought.

"Oh, come now, Adalina. When you live in a world with demons and Grim Reapers, I thought you'd be a little more open to the existence of Oracles."

 _Don't people usually go to Oracles, not the other way around?_

"Well, yes, that's how it used to be a zillion years ago. Then some of us realized that we weren't doing any good getting ridiculously old and disgusting in a place where hardly anyone knew we even existed. So we started going around, offering help and advice to those who needed it. And you guys need it all right. The amount of confusion I sensed in this house was nauseating, and I had to do something before I went crazy. Anyway, you like Sebastian, don't you? Of course you do, or else I wouldn't be here. It might surprise you to hear this, but he likes you as well."

 _How can he like me? He said himself demons don't love_.

"Yeah, I know, but contrary to what he says, it's not completely impossible. He's not the first demon to ever fall in love. Although I'm pretty sure this is the first time a demon has fallen in love with someone who is pure of heart."

 _I'm pure of heart?_

"I've never met anyone more pure of heart than you are. Which is why I was so shocked to see that Sebastian had fallen for you. But it happened."

 _How can a demon be in love with something pure of heart? Shouldn't he hate such things?_

The Oracle smiled. "Funny, he asked the same thing about you. Do you remember when Sebastian had you connect with him so he could see your past?"

 _Yes._

"Well, since you're pure of heart, he shared more than just your memories. It's kind of complicated to explain, but the main point is that that connection is the reason he's in love with you now. If you want to be with him, and we both know you do, then he has to become human. After all, it's completely illogical to have a human who is pure of heart and a demon end up together. That _is_ impossible. For him to become human, you have to kiss him and he has to be ready to change. If it doesn't happen on the first kiss, that's it. You don't get any more chances, and the two of you can never be together."

 _It…doesn't make sense._

"Nothing in your life has made sense since the moment you found out Sebastian is a demon. I know this is a lot to take in. But trust me, it's better to know all this than to not know. Right?"

 _I suppose._

"He really does care about you, Adalina. More than you realize. But this decision is for both of you. You have to be the one to kiss him, and he has to accept the consequences. I wish you both the best of luck."

Adalina blinked, and the Oracle was gone. For a moment, she wondered if she had just hallucinated the whole thing. But only for a moment.

Adalina smiled a little to herself. Regardless if Sebastian was ready to become human or not, the absolute truth was that despite being a demon, he had fallen in love with her just as much as she had fallen in love with him.


	17. Chapter 17

The next few days passed by without any further disturbance from Lukas as far as Phantomhive Manor went. However, two more criminals turned up dead in London in a way that only a Reaper could be responsible for. Ciel was becoming more frustrated by the day that the Reaper constantly managed to evade him.

When it came to Sebastian and Adalina, neither of them were addressing the clear elephant in the room regarding their rather intimate moment the other night.

Adalina knew that the Oracle had been to Sebastian, but Sebastian didn't know that the Oracle had been to Adalina. As far as he knew, she was still confused about her feelings towards him and knew nothing of the transformation process.

While Adalina was cleaning out Ciel's study as he and Sebastian took care of business elsewhere in an attempt to apprehend Lukas, she came across an old newspaper. Curious as to why it hadn't been thrown out, she flipped through a couple of the pages. Nothing seemed familiar. Why hadn't she seen this newspaper before? Seeing as she usually was the one to throw out the daily papers, she was able to read almost all of them. But this one was totally new to her.

She checked the date and saw that it was several weeks old. Why had Ciel kept it for so long?

Her heart stopped when she saw one of the articles. Pictured were several faces that would haunt her for years to come.

They belonged to some of the men who had held her captive.

Her eyes quickly scanned the article. It said that the men had been found dead and all of the girls who had been captured were being well taken care of as Scotland Yard tried to track down their families.

The article went on to say that several of the girls had overheard the men praising someone with the last name Druitt. According to the paper, he had either sold the girls to those men or given them information on how to find them since he kept track of all the most beautiful girls in the city.

Adalina crushed the paper in her hands and let it fall to the ground as her body shook with anger. It was Druitt. Viscount Druitt was responsible for her capture. She could remember her father mentioning him every now and again at dinner, but she couldn't remember why.

He must've learned about Adalina through the connection with her father and then informed those men of her whereabouts. He was the reason her parents were dead.

Adalina recalled how Viscount Druitt had been a suspect during the Jack the Ripper case, and while he hadn't been responsible for those killings, he had been responsible for selling women on the black market. Unfortunately, he had been able to bribe his way out of prison. And to this day, even with this information provided in the newspaper article, he was still a free man.

The head maid knew where he resided. She could easily get there and back without anyone knowing, even Sebastian.

Watching out for the other servants, Adalina snuck out to the stables and saddled up one of the horses. After securing her whip around her waist, she hopped up onto the horse and galloped down the road to head off to London.

Upon arriving at Viscount Druitt's estate, she tied up the horse along one of the gates. Then she went towards the back where she knew a servants' entrance would be.

From her time in captivity, Adalina was an expert at sneaking around and avoiding people she didn't want to be seen by. She had learned from all of the times she had managed to be able to sneak to the kitchens to grab a bit more food and cloths for the injured girls in the room. Escaping had been impossible as they had found out when one of the girls had attempted to do so, but the kitchen was close enough to the room they were all kept in that she could make it there and back undetected.

Such a skill came in handy as she evaded all of the Viscount's servants in the manor, looking for the Viscount himself.

She found him lazing away in front of the fireplace in one of his parlors. She discreetly locked the door behind her once she entered the room. At the sound of the door closing, the blond man turned from his chair.

He smirked as he stood up. "My, what a beautiful sparrow you are. What are you doing here, lovely maiden?"

Adalina untied the whip from around her waist faster than she ever had before and flung it towards him. The Viscount smiled as he deflected the weapon with his drawn sword.

"Wanting to play, darling sparrow? I believe I can assuage your desires."

Adalina began to shake with anger again. She flung her whip towards Druitt once more, but he managed to block her attack. As long as he had that sword, he had the upper hand.

She smirked a little. She could fix that.

She flung her whip towards him and wrapped it around the sword. With a hard pull, she yanked the sword out of his hand. It sailed through the air before she caught it.

Druitt smirked again which wasn't exactly the reaction she had been looking for. "Quite a talented sparrow you are. I've never met a woman like you before."

He may not have met her, but he knew of her. He was the reason for everything that had happened to her. Tired of playing games, Adalina flung her whip towards him. With no weapon to defend himself, the Viscount was powerless to stop the whip from wrapping around his neck.

Adalina tightened her grip on both of the weapons in her hands. She pulled firmly on her whip, causing the Viscount to go down to his knees. His face began to turn red from lack of oxygen. She slowly approached him, her eyes more cold and unfeeling than ever before.

She raised his sword above her head.

"Adalina, stop!"

Adalina frantically turned to find Ciel and Sebastian entering the parlor.

She was so close. If they had just given her one more moment…

"You can't do this," Ciel said calmly. "Believe me, I want him dead too for what he did to all those girls, especially the ones you knew, but he's too high up in society for this. If you kill him, you will face terrible consequences. I will not be able to help you."

Adalina looked at the Viscount before her. This man had ruined her entire life. He had made her into nothing. Because of him, she had nearly died on the streets of London. She had had to steal from people to survive. She had become less than dirt in the eyes of the citizens in the city. And he had done it to multiple girls, many of whom she came to call her friends.

Because of him, she was too afraid to speak.

He deserved to die.

"Adalina," Sebastian's calm and gentle voiced reached out to her. "I know you. You don't want to do this."

Of course she did. She wanted to kill him for everything he had done.

Sebastian realized that this was the Oracle had talked about. If Adalina did this, she would darken her own heart beyond repair. While he normally would encourage such a thing, it was quite possible that if this happened, they could never be together, demon or human. He could not let that happen.

"If you do this, it will haunt you forever," he said cautiously, his hands in front of him as he walked towards her. He didn't want to do anything too rash as there was no telling what she might do. "You will never be able to come back from this."

Tears formed in Adalina's eyes. She just wanted revenge for her family and for all those poor and innocent girls who had suffered because of the Viscount's actions.

Sebastian had been able to feel how much Adalina cared for her parents when he had shared her memories. He decided to use that to his advantage. "Think of your mother and father. Surely they wouldn't want you to do this."

Two tears rolled down her cheeks. He was right. Her mother and father wouldn't want this. Her father's priorities were usually a bit out of place every now and then, especially when it came to gambling, but he knew what was really important in the end.

"I know how much pain he has caused you. I do not deny that. But what will this solve?"

Adalina looked at the red-faced Viscount who was struggling to undo the whip around his neck. She had never killed anyone before. Not even protecting Ciel. The situation had never demanded it. If she had to save Ciel or herself, she would take a life. She had sworn she would do so when she became his servant. It was a last resort, but she would do it.

But here now…she was going to murder someone in cold blood.

With a small sob, Adalina dropped the sword in her hand and let the whip slacken around the Viscount's neck.

Druitt inhaled sharply and let out a few coughs as he tried to regain his breath. "Well, my dear sparrow, I did not know someone like you was capable of that."

Adalina punched him so hard in the face that he was knocked unconscious. Her head leaned up towards the ceiling as more tears made their way down her face.

"Sebastian, take care of him," Ciel ordered.

"Yes, my lord."

Sebastian went over to the knocked-out Viscount and placed his gloved hand on his forehead. His eyes glowed pink for a few brief seconds before he stood up again.

"He'll remember what happened, but he won't be able to remember Adalina's face," he stated.

"Let's return to the manor," Ciel said. "Quickly."

The three of them went outside before any of the servants could question their presence. Adalina rode the horse back while Sebastian carried Ciel seeing as no carriage was available at the moment. They had been in quite a hurry once they had realized where Adalina had gone.

Once Adalina had returned the horse to the stables, she took a deep breath before entering the manor and heading up to Ciel's study. She absolutely dreaded the conversation that was coming.

Sebastian and Ciel were already inside his study once she had arrived. Ciel was glaring at her with his visible eye, and it made her want to disappear even though he was significantly younger than her. She felt like she was nothing more than an insect that he could easily squash with his foot.

"Adalina, your actions today are inexcusable," Ciel said firmly. "As a Phantomhive servant, you are expected to protect me and this manor, not go out and seek death on your own."

Adalina looked down at her crossed hands in shame.

"Normally, such an action would warrant severe punishment. However…coming from me that would just be hypocritical since my entire contract with Sebastian revolves around me getting revenge for my own family. And this is your first infraction since you began working here. You're just lucky Sebastian was able to wipe the Viscount's memories of you. Otherwise, all of us would be in a lot of trouble. I must warn you, should you ever attempt to do something like that again, you will have to accept the consequences of your actions on your own."

Adalina nodded slowly.

"That's all for now. Return to your chores. You have a lot of missed time to make up for."

Adalina curtseyed and left the room in embarrassment.

The more she thought about what she had done, the more ridiculous the idea seemed. She had allowed herself to be blinded by her anger and rage and as a result, she had almost taken another human life. And the life of a Viscount no less. Doing such a thing would've resulted in her imprisonment for life or perhaps even execution. She was fortunate that Ciel and Sebastian had gotten there in time to stop her.

How ironic it was that a demon had been able to talk her out of killing someone.

"Adalina," Sebastian called from behind her. She turned to face him, her cheeks still red from a combination of her tears and her lingering embarrassment. "Are you all right?"

She nodded a little.

Sebastian could sense a hint of gratefulness beneath the humiliation she was feeling. He knew that deep down, she appreciated him stopping her from killing the Viscount. If it had been up to him, he would've happily watched while she ended his life. However, he knew that such an event would scar the young woman greatly to the point where he wouldn't be able to help her anymore. Even the Oracle had said that she wouldn't be the same after doing something like that.

It was amusing to him that he could wipe out a whole crowd of people and feel nothing while humans were greatly affected after just killing one person. It was one of those things that made them so interesting to him. And another reason why he didn't want to become one.

"You were not supposed to lay eyes on that newspaper article. Once the young master and I saw it, we tried to keep it from you, but I suppose that he forgot to throw it out. We knew that you wouldn't react well to such news. But perhaps, if I had told you about the Viscount myself, I would've been able to convince you not to go after him. The fault lies with me."

Adalina looked at him for a moment, stunned he was taking the blame for what had just happened. She reached up and quickly gave him a small peck on the cheek. She smiled a little in thanks before continuing down the hallway.

Sebastian lightly rubbed the place where her lips had touched.

It was the first time her lips had ever touched him.


	18. Chapter 18

When Adalina opened her eyes, her breathing quickened and she began to panic.

She was back in the small, cramped room at the men's house.

Sick girls surrounded her, not seeming to notice that she was on the verge of having a breakdown.

Had her entire time as a head maid for Earl Phantomhive just been a wonderful dream? An illusion driven by her desperation to be free?

She couldn't take this. After knowing the beautiful taste of freedom, she could never be locked up like this again.

She had to escape.

She ran to the door and flung it open, not caring about the guard who usually stood on the other side. However, it seemed he had been called away because no one was there.

Adalina frantically ran down the halls searching for some way out. She didn't know what she was expecting to find. She had spent years in this place without ever finding a means of escape before.

She passed an open door and when she looked inside, she found to her horror that the men were whipping another one of the girls.

The girl turned around for a moment to look at her.

Adalina's eyes widened when she saw that she was looking at her own face, pale and sick from the severe lack of nourishment.

One of the men forced her to turn back around before they continued to whip her.

Adalina put her hand to her mouth as tears filled her eyes.

Why couldn't she escape? Why couldn't she ever be free of these people?

She continued down the hallway when she came upon another door, this one closed. She slowly opened it, hoping that it would lead her outside but dreading what the alternative would be.

To her horror, Ciel was trapped in a cage in the middle of the room. She ran up to him and knelt in front of the cage, putting her hands over his that were gripping the cage bars.

They were so cold. And so small.

She took a good look at her master and saw that he was a few years younger. More tears came to her eyes as she realized this was what he had been through when he had been captured as a child.

He was so very young.

He wore only a white shirt and brown shorts, both of which were tattered beyond repair and stained with blood.

She met his desperate and terrified eyes. His right eye remained the same cool blue as the other. It was the only time she had ever seen both of his eyes.

She gently rubbed her thumb over his hand, unwilling to leave his side ever again. Slowly so as not to alarm him, she put her hand through the bars and stroked his dirtied hair. Unlike usual, he seemed to welcome her touch.

Suddenly, she was grabbed from behind and forced off the floor. She fought against the hooded figures pulling her away so she could try to protect Ciel from them.

One of the hooded figures unlocked the cage and yanked the young Ciel out of it to his frightened protests.

Adalina broke free of her captors and ran to him. She firmly wrapped her arms around the small boy, his head only reaching the middle of her stomach. She clutched onto him protectively in order to shield him from his captors and whatever their malicious intentions were.

More hooded figures grabbed her and pulled her away from the young Ciel. Adalina frantically held her arms out for him as she was pulled away, urging him to try to reach her hands where he would be safe.

The young Ciel reached for her with terrified cries, but too many hooded figures held them so that they could not reach one another.

The hooded figures roughly tossed Adalina out of the room and she fell to the floor. She looked up in time to see the door slam.

Panicking, she got up and ran to the door, slamming and pounding her hands against it as if doing so would let it open again. She weakly leaned her head on the closed door, tears traveling down her cheeks as she heard the young Ciel's agonizing screams from inside.

She began stumbling down the halls again, tears still blurring her vision.

What kind of heartless people tortured a small child? What were they doing to him while she was locked out of the room?

Her footsteps were slow and she could barely walk in a straight line as her emotions overwhelmed her.

She could still hear the young Ciel's terrified screams.

Suddenly, someone grabbed her and firmly held her arms. She started whimpering and fought fiercely against the person holding her, doing anything to get away. She could not be captive again! She wouldn't let this person take her and keep her in this place of horror!

One of the hands released her arm and firmly grasped her chin before forcing her to look up.

"Adalina!"

Adalina's eyes quickly opened, and she found that was she looking up at Sebastian. His hand was firmly holding her arm while his other hand was under her chin. His brow was furrowed in urgent concern, an expression she wasn't sure she had ever seen him wear before.

Taking heaving breaths, she quickly looked around her. She was back in Phantomhive Manor.

Sebastian knew that she must've dreamt about her time in captivity. It was the only thing that could make her react so terribly. She had had nightmares when she had first come to the manor but never any of this intensity. The whole event with Viscount Druitt must've affected her more than both of them realized. Spending time in the torture chamber not long ago certainly didn't help.

"Adalina, look at me," Sebastian said firmly as he put his hand to her face, reminded of the time his young master had an experience quite similar to this one after investigating the circus. He gently moved the hair away from her sweaty face. "You are not captive any longer. Those men will never be able to touch you or hurt you again. There is nothing to fear."

Adalina frantically shook her head and attempted to pull away from him. She wanted to see Ciel. She wanted to know that he was okay.

"Adalina," Sebastian said calmly, keeping a firm hold on her for fear she would hurt herself if he let her go. If he didn't get her to stop hyperventilating soon, she was going to pass out. He once again forced her to look at him. "Everyone is fine. The servants, myself, the young master, everyone is perfectly safe."

Adalina met his crimson eyes and felt a warmth spread through her that helped her begin to calm down. She ran a hand through her hair, her breathing finally beginning to slow.

When she pulled away from Sebastian, she realized that she was in one of the hallways on the second floor of the manor rather than in the head maid's quarters on the first floor.

Had she been sleepwalking? That seemed unlike her. She wasn't sure she had ever walked around in her sleep before. If she had, surely she would've known by now. Sebastian would've told her.

"That was quite the nightmare," Sebastian stated.

Adalina looked over at him.

"Warm milk and honey?"

Adalina nodded, and the two of them went down to the kitchen. As she sat down on one of the chairs, Sebastian filled a teacup with warmed milk and honey and handed it to her. She slowly sipped it, her heart calming down once more.

Sebastian never understood how such a simple drink could manage to calm humans so well. They were such simple creatures really.

"Does this help?"

Adalina nodded again. She remembered her promise to never let her memories control her again. But she couldn't be angry with herself this time. That dream had been more vivid than any nightmare she had ever had before. And given what she had been through in the past few days, she figured she could cut herself some slack.

Sebastian wondered what she possibly could've dreamt about that made her wander the halls of the manor and fight against him when he touched her. He guessed captivity, and he was certain that was a part of it, but this was the first time he had ever had to reassure her that everyone in the manor was okay.

"You needn't be afraid of such things any longer," he assured her. "As long as I am here, you will never have to endure anything like that ever again." He came up behind her and pressed his hands to her shoulders. He leaned his head down close to her ear. "I give you my word."

She tilted her head to the left, and it gave Sebastian room to press his lips to her neck. She let herself indulge in the feeling again, but only for a moment.

She placed her left hand to his head which told him to pull away from her. He sat on the chair next to her and pressed his forehead to hers, her hand still touching the side of his face.

He greatly desired to kiss her pale full lips, but he couldn't. He could not be the one to kiss her first, and if she tried to kiss him now, he couldn't say for sure if he would let her.

Instead, he stood up and wrapped his arms around her small form.

Adalina rested her head on his chest. She liked being in Sebastian's arms. She felt like nothing bad could ever happen if he was holding her. Like there wasn't a safer place.

"You should get some sleep," Sebastian said in his smooth voice that made anyone melt.

However, it didn't have that effect on Adalina. At least not in the same way it affected other women. It didn't bother him like he thought it would. It meant she was different from the rest of the humans he came in contact with.

"We both know how the young master feels about his servants not getting enough rest."

Sebastian escorted her to her room, not willing to leave her side just yet. Not to mention he was fairly certain she didn't want to be alone for the dark walk from the kitchen to the head maid's quarters. Not after a nightmare of that degree.

Once in her room, Adalina got into the bed and pulled up the blanket.

Sebastian gave her a slight bow. "Good night, Adalina."

He turned to leave, but he stopped when he felt her hand on his arm. He turned back around to face her. She wasn't looking at him. He could sense her lingering fear from the nightmare. She did not want to be alone yet.

"Very well."

Sebastian removed his coat so that only his white shirt and vest were showing. For courtesy's sake, he did not get under the blankets with her. He lied on top of them next to her and put his arm around her so he could pull her close to him.

Adalina rested her head and right hand on his chest. The arm Sebastian had around her gently ran up and down her back in a comforting manner. She relaxed and soon drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

Sebastian listened to her heartbeat so he could tell when she had fallen asleep. It didn't take long. He could easily slip out of her grasp now, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He wanted to savor this. It was not often he got to hold Adalina in his arms while she was calm and uninjured. He wanted this moment to last forever.

He removed the glove from the hand rubbing her back and slowly brushed his fingers through her soft hair. She stirred for a moment but remained asleep, so he continued the action.

It was the first night that he actually wished for the sun to never rise again.


	19. Chapter 19

"Adalina, you are going to practice with Lady Elizabeth today."

Adalina was confused. Surely Sebastian didn't mean Ciel's fiancée who ran around the manor squealing about making everything cute and adorable.

She and Sebastian headed out towards the gardens and there stood Elizabeth, two swords in hand. She looked much different than the young girl Adalina had come to know. She held herself more professionally and looked as if she was attempting to be more of a woman than a girl.

If she thought Ciel and Elizabeth were a good couple before, seeing this made her realize they were practically made for each other.

"I'll leave the both of you to practice," Sebastian said with a small bow.

"Thank you, Sebastian," Elizabeth smiled. Once the butler left, Elizabeth turned to Adalina. "Don't go easy on me. I won't go easy on you."

Adalina noticed that despite her quite noticeable change, the girl's eyes still sparkled as if getting to spar with Adalina was the highlight of her month. The young woman was a little wary about practicing with Elizabeth. If she ended up hurting her, Ciel was going to kill her.

"Oh, and no using your whip today. Sebastian said you needed to work on your sword-fighting skills."

Adalina raised her eyebrows, and obediently untied her whip from around her waist before flinging it away from her.

Elizabeth tossed her one of her swords. Before Adalina even had time to get used to the feel of the weapon, the spar began.

Adalina nearly got her limbs sliced off simply because she was stunned that Lady Elizabeth possessed such intense fighting knowledge. How had she not known this before?

Elizabeth ended up winning all of the rounds between them.

"You're very talented, Adalina," Elizabeth smiled.

Adalina let out a small amused scoff. If she was talented, why had she lost each time?

"Don't take these defeats personally. Not even Edward has beaten me, and he's been training for longer than I have." Elizabeth looked towards the clouds in the sky as her mind began to wander. "I tried to hide this ability from Ciel. I wanted him to always think of me as cute. But you know…I'm kind of glad he found out. I think he respects me more. And I want him to know that I can protect him as much as he can protect me."

Adalina loved the way Elizabeth talked about Ciel. It was clear that she really loved him and only him. It was extremely adorable.

"I can only hope that one day, Ciel will open up to me as well. And there will be no more secrets between us."

If she wasn't a servant who had no place touching nobility, Adalina would've hugged the girl right then and there.

"Take a short break, and we'll go again."

Adalina politely curtseyed before heading towards the servant's entrance at the back of the manor.

"So soft…so beautiful…"

Adalina turned when she heard Sebastian's voice. She looked ahead of her near the bushes and saw Sebastian cuddling a black cat. His face was the definition of bliss. She had never seen him this way in the entire time they had worked together. That was a shame because it was a rather comical thing to witness.

"Warm fur…piercing eyes…gorgeous voice…"

To think that the normally suave demon was sitting on the ground holding the small animal close to his chest with a slight blush on his cheeks. It made Adalina smile a little. Everyone had their weaknesses. Even demons.

* * *

Adalina was out in the gardens practicing more of the moves she had been learning from Sebastian during their training times and some other sword-fighting techniques Lady Elizabeth had taught her.

She was unaware of a pair of agitated red eyes watching her. That is until those eyes came out of hiding.

She was caught off-guard by the sudden movement of the intruder and fell to the ground. He quickly pinned her down and she quickly realized that he was extremely strong.

"I've heard stories about beings like you," he said in desperation as he leaned close to her. "I never thought they'd actually be true. But you're driving me to the brink of insanity. Killing you will bring me great pleasure."

His eyes began glowing, and Adalina's heart skipped a beat when she realized that the person on top of her was a demon.

The demon's black fingernails grew into very sharp claws. He raised his hand up above his head, preparing to strike.

"What are you doing?!" she heard Sebastian exclaim.

Adalina took advantage of the demon's momentary distraction and slammed her head into his. He was disoriented just enough for Adalina to kick him off her. She started to run towards Sebastian, but she suddenly felt her arms yanked behind her almost enough to pull them out of the sockets.

The demon pulled her towards him, one hand tightly gripping her wrist behind her back and the other aiming its claws against her neck. If she made one wrong move, he would slice her skin to ribbons.

"I might've known it was you," Sebastian growled.

The demon smirked at him. "Long time, no see…Sebastian."

"And what name are you taking nowadays?"

"My last master named me Nicholas. I've come to grow rather fond of it."

"What are you doing here?"

"I might ask you the same question. How are you here and you haven't killed this girl yet? Can't you sense her? It's driving me mad."

"Release her, or I swear, it will be the last thing you do."

"Turning on one of your own in defense of a human? And a _pure_ human at that?" The demon laughed a little. "My, how things have changed."

"Release her _now_."

Nicholas's sharp claws began squeezing Adalina's neck which caused small trickles of blood to begin to flowing down her skin. Rage surged through Sebastian at the sight of Adalina's red blood contrasting against her pale flesh.

"I never thought I'd see the day you were willing to kill for a pure being," Nicholas said with malice edging his voice.

Sebastian's eyes began to glow bright pink as he pulled out several silver butter knives.

Adalina slowly moved her free hand down to her waist where her whip was tied. While Nicholas was distracted with Sebastian, she managed to get it free and hold it tightly in her hand.

Sebastian ran towards the two of them and freed Adalina from the demon's hold. She flung her whip towards Nicholas, but he caught it with his arm and pulled her towards him. As soon as she was close to him, she kicked his legs out from under him. His surprise at the girl's ability to defend herself was enough for Sebastian to pin him to the ground.

"If you _ever_ come after her again…I will make you feel pain that you didn't even know was possible for you to feel," Sebastian growled.

"You've gone soft, Sebastian. What kind of demon are you if won't even kill a pure being?"

"A demon who has self-control. You could learn from me. This woman is very important to my master. If she dies, his soul will become weaker, and I have worked too hard cultivating it for something as little as this to destroy that now."

Nicholas smirked. "I see. Well, then…I suppose I'll be returning now. I hope that soul is worth it."

"It will be."

In the blink of an eye, Nicholas had disappeared.

Sebastian got up off the ground and went over towards Adalina. "Are you all right?"

Adalina nodded a little.

"You handled that rather well. I've never seen a human do that to a demon before. I suppose he wasn't prepared for it either. Nicholas is a rather weak demon, and he wasn't completely in the right state of mind. You always continue to surprise me."

Sebastian gently put his gloved hand to the side of her face. Adalina leaned into his hand, remembering how much she loved his touch. It was a lot better when the fabric wasn't in the way though. His touch seemed more sincere when he touched her without his gloves on.

The young woman took a small step closer to him, meeting his eyes once again. They pulled her in more than they ever had before. She didn't remember them ever being so mesmerizing.

He had just fought off another one of his own kind in order to protect her. If he did that, then surely he…

She leaned her head up towards him.

Sebastian's eyes widened a little and he placed his hands on her shoulders, ever so gently pushing her back. He couldn't kiss her now. He loved Adalina, but he didn't know if he was ready to give up all of his power and become human for her.

"Make sure you take care of the wounds on your neck."

Adalina watched his retreating form as he headed back inside the manor, her heart sinking.

He had just rejected her. She knew he had feelings for her, and she had been rejected all the same. Taking into account what the Oracle had explained, she knew that the reason for his rejection was because he didn't want to give up his demon powers. While he may have had feelings for her, his desire for his power came first.

How could she have been so stupid? Of course Sebastian would choose power over her. He was a demon. Even if a demon fell in love, power was more important than anything.

She had done it. She had fallen for his charms and had just gotten hurt in the end. She should've known that falling for him would lead to nothing.

And now she had put him in a terribly awkward position.

She should never have gotten caught up in the demon's web.

* * *

As time went on, a very thick tension rested upon the manor and everyone noticed, especially Ciel.

Sebastian and Adalina hardly ever looked at one another, and Sebastian didn't talk to her very much anymore. He didn't even give her chores or orders and he never trained her.

"Is there something going on with you and Adalina?" Ciel asked his butler.

"Nothing that you should concern yourself with, my lord," Sebastian answered.

"If you say so."

Ciel had no idea of the constant battle raging inside Sebastian's mind. Should he change into a human? Should he stay a demon? Did he really love Adalina? Did he only think he loved her?

Now that he had pushed her away, he didn't know if it even mattered anymore. She would never desire to initiate a kiss with him now. She wouldn't even look at him anymore. The kiss had to be of her own free will, and it was going to be a while before she was certain she wouldn't be rejected again.

Why had he had to share memories with her? If he had just left everything as it was, he wouldn't be in this position right now. He would still be the same unfeeling demon he always was and wouldn't be thinking about possibly having to become a human.

At the same time…these feelings he had were the most exhilarating thing to happen to him in his long demon life. It was no wonder humans constantly looked for companionship with others. He wanted to experience these feelings…but he didn't want to have to face the consequences of having them.

Adalina was busy completing her chores, trying her best to stop thinking about her Almost-Kiss with Sebastian. But it was useless. That horrible moment kept forcing its way into her mind and consumed her thoughts.

She passed by Ciel's study when she heard voices inside. She paused for a moment to listen because the voices were unfamiliar. It wasn't Sebastian and it wasn't Baldroy and the voices were too deep to belong to Finnian, Mey-Rin, or Ciel.

One of the voices chuckled lowly. "Some Earl, huh? He's nothing more than a kid."

"Pretty pathetic, if you ask me," another added.

"We gotta get out of here before that butler sees us."

"We're gonna be rich," a third man laughed.

Adalina disregarded etiquette and burst into the room to find five unfamiliar men inside. One of them held Ciel against his chest, his hand clamped firmly over the boy's mouth so he could not call for help. His jacket had been flung off and his shirt was ripped open.

All five men turned to look at her with sick grins.

"Whoa, Lukas wasn't kidding," one of them smiled. "He does have a good-looking staff."

 _Lukas_ sent these men?! Why was that Reaper so determined to kill all of them? She could understand wanting to kill Sebastian since she was aware of the mutual hatred demons and Reapers shared, but why go after her and Ciel too? Just for being associated with a demon?

Another one smirked at her. "That body could be put to so much better use, hon."

Adalina looked at her captive master. She met his eyes and he gave her a small nod that she only noticed because she was looking for it.

The head maid looked down at the floor. Then without moving her head, her eyes looked up at the five men with a murderous glare.

Before any of them could question the sudden change that had come over her, she quickly untied the whip around her waist and went in for the attack.

Using her whip, her fists, and her instinct, none of the strangers had a chance against her. She wrapped her whip around one man's neck tightly as he struggled for air, dodging and delivering attacks as she held him with her weapon. She used his body to protect herself and hit the other men until her human shield passed out. She then tossed the limp body away from her and continued to attack. Multiple limbs broke when she kicked them and twisted them the wrong way.

The young woman did a back flip and kicked one of the intruders in the face in the process. Breathing heavily as she stood up again, she punched the last one without turning to look at him.

"Ad…Adalina…"

At the sound of her master's pained voice, Adalina quickly turned and went over to a weakened Ciel. There was a small red stain seeping through the back of his opened white shirt. She knew it was inappropriate of her to see her master in a state of undress, but she was not about to go get Sebastian. It wouldn't be the first time she had ever seen Ciel shirtless anyway since she had previously helped him dress when Sebastian had 'died'.

She tentatively lifted his shirt up and wanted to throw up upon the sight that greeted her. It wasn't that she was disgusted by the blood but by the sheer cruelty of what the men had done to him.

They had carved open the brand on his back he had received during his month in captivity.

Adalina gently lifted Ciel up into her arms, careful to avoid the wound. If she ever ran into Lukas again, she would do whatever it took to make him suffer the same pain he had indirectly inflicted on her master.

One of the men weakly lifted his head up and attempted to inch towards her. "What kind of servant are you?"

Keeping Ciel firm in her arms, she kicked the intruder as hard as she could and then stomped on his face, breaking his nose.

She was a Phantomhive servant.

She carried Ciel to his bedroom and set him down on the bed. Then she motioned to him that she would return shortly.

Being particularly cautious about running to Sebastian since she had been avoiding him for the better part of the last week (and he had clearly also been avoiding her), she retrieved some cloths, cream, and bandages so she could care for his injury.

Then she returned to Ciel's room and helped him take the stained white shirt off.

With one of the wet cloths, she dabbed at the wound to clean it. Ciel tensed in pain but didn't stop her.

She then lightly rubbed the cream onto it to help it heal faster before securing a small bandage over top of it that wouldn't stick to it.

After the wound had been taken care of, she helped him redress.

"Thank you," Ciel said quietly. "You handled all of this very well. I'm very impressed that you managed to take out all of those men."

Adalina politely curtseyed in acknowledgment.

"Have Sebastian take care of them."

Adalina curtseyed again albeit hesitantly, something that did not escape Ciel's notice.

"Is there something wrong between you two?"

Adalina gave him a small smile and shook her head.

Because unlike Sebastian, she could lie.


	20. Chapter 20

The sound of quiet crying reached Adalina's ears as she was about to return inside.

She went to the gardens searching for the source of the crying. She was surprised to find Finnian sitting in a ball by the roses, his head buried into his arms.

She had never seen the young gardener in such a state before. Well, she _had_ seen him crying before but never like this. Usually when he was upset about something, he was in hysterics and clung onto Sebastian and Adalina wailing unintelligibly.

She slowly approached him making sure he could hear her footsteps. He never looked up at her. She then knelt down before reaching her hand out and touching his shoulder.

His tear-stained face slowly looked up at her. It broke her heart.

"My hat ripped," he stated quietly.

Adalina looked next to him and saw that his straw hat he wore every day and treasured more than anything had been ripped clean in half. Something told her that had happened when Lukas's minions had invaded the manor.

She sat next to him and lightly put her arm around him as he cried.

All of the servants had been given something from Ciel when they were first hired. Mey-Rin had been given her glasses, Baldroy had been given access to any weapon he needed to protect Ciel and the manor, Adalina had been given a few dresses in addition to her uniforms (Ciel thought she deserved it after being forced to wear such provocative clothing for so long), and Finnian had been given his straw hat.

All of them cherished these things more than anything because it had been given to them by their master.

So she knew how upset it made Finnian to have this object destroyed.

"Now how am I supposed to hide this…?"

Adalina looked at the mark on the back of his neck: S-012. As if having his most cherished item gone forever wasn't bad enough, she knew how much he wanted to keep that mark covered so he could forget about his torturous time where he had been considered nothing more than an experiment.

She too would do anything to hide the scars she had received from the lash of the whip.

The young woman motioned for him to stay put. Then she went back inside the manor and headed to the head maid's quarters. Once there, she took out one of her dresses that she only wore when she had days off which was a rare occurrence. It had been a while since she had worn this particular dress. She wouldn't miss it.

She cut off a good portion of the fabric and stretched it out a bit.

Finnian looked up when he felt something touch his neck. Adalina crouched in front of him and tied the fabric around him to make a thin scarf. The sandy color went well with the rest of his uniform and wasn't too hot so he could still wear it outside. Since this had been one of the dresses Ciel had given her, it was almost like he had given this to Finnian as well. And most importantly, it covered the mark.

Adalina smiled a little at him.

Finnian's eyes sparkled, and he quickly stood up. "Did you make this for me?"

She nodded.

The young boy tightly hugged her but not enough to hurt her. "Thank you."

* * *

Adalina was tending to the horses in the stables used for the Phantomhive carriages.

She gently rubbed her hand across the head of one of the horses, wishing her life was far less complicated and more like the horse's. He only had to worry about pulling a carriage. She had to worry about working and falling in love with an actual demon who loved her as well but didn't want to be with her because he loved his power more than he loved her.

Quiet laughter behind her broke her out of her thoughts about her twisted love life. She turned to find Lukas smirking at her, Ciel in his hold. His large Death Scythe was pressed against the boy's neck, daring him to make a noise.

"I've got to admit, I've never had so much trouble getting rid of humans before," the rogue Grim Reaper laughed. "I suppose if you want something done, you've gotta do it yourself."

Lukas knocked Ciel on the back of the head just hard enough for him to go slack in his arms.

"Catch me if you can!"

With no time to spare and definitely no time to get Sebastian whether she wanted to or not, Adalina swung herself up onto the horse's bare back and took off after the Reaper. With Ciel in his arms, he wasn't as fast as he normally was. She found that if she forced the horse on as fast as he could go, she could just barely keep up with him.

She kept her eyes on her unconscious master to make sure he stayed alive.

Lukas finally stopped on one of the tree branches resting above a very large pond.

Adalina slowed the horse, not caring about how extremely uncomfortable the ride had been.

Lukas smirked at her once again. "Don't think I haven't done my research, dear. You won't be able to save him this time. And if you try, you'll both die."

Before the head maid could stop him, Lukas dropped the unconscious Ciel right in the middle of the pond. Adalina jumped off the horse and ran towards the water as Lukas disappeared with another laugh.

She hesitated at the edge only for a second before wading into the water. She frantically went deeper and deeper, feeling around for Ciel. Her feet stuck in the mud the further she went.

With no other choice, she went under the water and forced her eyes open, feeling them sting upon contact with the dirty water. It hardly mattered because she could barely see anything in the murkiness.

She went up for air for a quick moment before plunging down again and resuming her search.

Ciel had gone down far enough to the point where she could not stand with her head above water and reach him. Desperate to save him, she clumsily waded towards him and hooked her arm around his waist. Then she frantically pushed for the surface. She took a deep inhale when her head came above the water, but it wasn't long before she fell back under again.

Still unable to swim, Adalina did everything in her power to make sure that Ciel's head stayed above the water. After frantic fighting to stay on the surface and move towards the bank, she finally felt ground beneath her and was able to pull Ciel to the edge.

He was still unconscious, and she had no doubt that water had to have gotten into his lungs.

She leaned over him and pressed her hands to his chest, trying to get the water to expel from his body. Then she pressed her mouth to his and gave him some breaths to see if that would help.

It still didn't work.

She once again pressed on his chest, fearing the worst.

Finally, Ciel lurched before turning and coughing out water. After taking a couple deep breaths, he turned back over so that he was lying on his back.

A wave of relief washed over Adalina. Completely exhausted, she collapsed on the grass next to him.

"What happened?" Ciel gasped. He looked at the pond in front of him and realized they were both soaking wet. "Did you jump in there after me?"

Adalina looked over at him and nodded.

"But you can't swim."

She nodded again.

In that moment, the head maid once again greatly gained the young earl's respect.

Adalina forced herself up off the ground and held her hand out for Ciel. He took it with great difficulty. Both of their bodies felt like lead.

She helped the boy up onto the horse and then swung herself up behind him. Then she galloped off back towards the manor. Riding the horse bareback was one of the most uncomfortable things Ciel had ever experienced, but he decided not to say anything since he knew that there hadn't been time for her to saddle up.

Upon returning to the manor, Adalina hopped down from the horse and helped Ciel down as well. She began to carry him into the manor, but her fatigue had not faded away from the amount of fighting she had done in the pond to keep both her and Ciel alive. She could feel herself weakening further the longer she carried him.

Luckily (or unluckily depending on the point of view), Sebastian came out and hurried over to them when he saw the two of them approaching the manor. As soon as Ciel had been transferred to Sebastian's arms, Adalina fell to her knees in exhaustion.

She refused to look at the butler.

Sebastian carried Ciel up to his room where he could prepare him a change of clothing.

"Why didn't you come?" Ciel snapped. "You should've known I was dying."

"Forgive me, young master. It's safe to say Lukas did this, is it not?"

"Who else would it be?"

"He did something to shield your presence from me so I could no longer sense if you were in danger."

"I suppose you're lucky Adalina was there then."

"If anyone is lucky, it is you, young master. I have never known a human to evade death so well."

* * *

Adalina was out in the yard hanging up some laundry to dry, increasingly wary of Lukas's presence or any other human he may have hired to kill them all.

She was just about to head inside when she felt a sharp pain in her leg. She bent down and found a very small dart lodged into her skin. She slowly pulled it out, and a small spot of blood soaked through the tights she was wearing from the hole the dart had made. Examining the weapon in her palm, she suddenly felt her legs go weak. Before she could do anything, all of the muscles in her legs ceased to work and she fell onto the ground.

Adalina panicked for a moment and attempted to crawl towards the manor for help. After all, she couldn't call for anyone. It didn't take very long for the muscles in her arms to stop working as well and she was rendered helpless. She couldn't move a single part of her body.

Lukas smirked from his spot in the trees. "Demon lover," he muttered.

It had become increasingly clear that he wasn't going to be able to rid himself of that demon or that stupid Phantomhive kid or that woman who was in love with that demon. They just wouldn't die! He had managed to successfully kill multiple criminals littering the streets, and yet his greatest adversaries were a kid, a maid, and a butler!

If he couldn't kill them, he could at least make the demon's life miserable and that was the next best thing.

He could probably just kill that maid now, but the result of this drug was going to be much better than killing her…

Adalina lay on the grass for at least two hours unable to move. She feared Lukas was going to come and finally end her life, but to her surprise, it never happened.

"Adalina!" she heard Sebastian call.

Despite their intensely awkward situation, she wanted to call back to him. She wanted him to know that she needed his help. Really…she just wanted him near her again.

Sebastian's face appeared in her view. "Honestly, I'd expect this from the other servants, but not from you."

Adalina wondered if she would be able to speak even if she wasn't a mute. Perhaps the drugged dart had rendered her speechless anyway.

"Come now, you have chores to finish."

Sebastian took her hands and pulled her to her feet, but her limp body immediately started to go down again. He quickly caught her before she hit the ground.

"What happened to you? Why can't you stand?"

Adalina's eyes went towards the ground, and when Sebastian followed her line of sight, he saw a small dart resting on the grass. He looked down at her to find a dark stain on her tights. It wasn't difficult to put two and two together.

Sebastian sighed heavily. This really was the last thing he needed.

He hefted Adalina up into his arms and moved her so that her head was resting on his chest. There was no need for her to be extremely uncomfortable as he carried her. Though considering their circumstances, she was probably already really uncomfortable. But there was no reason to make it worse by accidently hitting her head against a doorframe.

He returned her to the head maid's quarters and placed her on the bed.

"This certainly complicates things," he said as he put his hand to chin. "I'll inform the young master about what's happened. In the meantime, I suppose I can't just leave you here staring up at the ceiling."

He went over to her and took her head in his hands in order to force her to look at him. She met his eyes as they began to glow their terrifying bright pink and the pupils narrowed.

"Sleep."

And immediately, Adalina fell asleep.

Sebastian sighed again. Why did it seem that ever since Adalina had found out he was a demon, she just couldn't catch a break? Hopefully, the effects of the drug would wear off by the time she awoke, whenever that would be. Humans usually didn't wake up for a really long time when he put them to sleep which is why he hardly ever did so.

"Young lord," Sebastian said as he entered Ciel's study. "I'm afraid Adalina's been struck by a paralyzing drug. She's currently in bed sleeping it off."

"How did that happen?" Ciel asked.

"My only guess would be Lukas."

"This is getting out of hand."

"I agree. Shall I inform the other Reapers of his actions?"

"I don't think it can be helped."

"Very good, my lord. I shall see if I can contact William and inform him of what's going on."

* * *

Adalina's eyes slowly fluttered open. She felt like she had been sleeping for a month.

Her eyes widened as she looked around her. She quickly sat up when she realized she was in a warm bed and not in a cold room full of sick girls.

The last thing she remembered, she was locked away with the other captured girls awaiting to serve the men who had killed her family and snatched her away from her home. How did she get into this room wearing a warm nightgown rather than the very revealing clothing the men made her wear?

Had something happened while she had been sleeping? Had the men been caught and she had been transported to another place when they found her? Had the men sold her to someone else? Where the other girls?

What even was this place?

Adalina slowly got out of her bed and her eyes widened even more when she caught sight of herself in the small mirror hanging on the wall. She may not have seen how she looked in a very long time, but she definitely knew that she should be much thinner and paler than she looked now. She hadn't had a proper meal since she had been taken and that was months ago. Why did she look so…healthy?

The young woman exited the room and made her way down the long hallway in the strange place.

"I'm glad to see you're okay."

Adalina frantically turned around to find a man dressed as a butler walking towards her. She quickly backed away from him.

"Is something wrong?"

Something was definitely wrong. This man seemed to know her, but she had never seen him before in her life. Was he responsible for bringing her to this strange place? How could he explain how she looked so healthy when she should be starved and sick?

Sebastian looked at the alarmed woman in front of him, confusion and panic radiating from her. "Do you…know where you are?"

Adalina looked at him with wide eyes and slowly shook her head.

"Do you know who I am?"

Again, Adalina shook her head.

Sebastian fought to keep his eyes from glowing in front of her as his hatred for Lukas increased tenfold. If the Reaper wasn't next to impossible to catch, Sebastian would kill that creature himself regardless of any consequences he might face.

The paralyzing drug had caused Adalina to lose her memories.


	21. Chapter 21

"I am the butler of this estate, Sebastian Michaelis," Sebastian said as he placed his hand over his chest, masking his extreme irritation well. "You are at Phantomhive Manor, and you work here as the head maid alongside me."

Wait a moment…she was working as a head maid for nobility? How had such a thing happened? Why couldn't she remember that?

"Adalina!"

The young woman turned to find a young boy and another woman running up to her. She quickly pressed herself against the wall to avoid them.

"Are you feeling better?" the boy asked with a large innocent smile on his face.

Adalina looked over at Sebastian.

"This is Finnian, our gardener," he calmly explained. "And this is Mey-Rin, the housemaid."

Finnian and Mey-Rin exchanged a confused glance. Why was Sebastian introducing them to Adalina when they had all worked together for years?

"Baldroy is around here somewhere. He is our cook. I'm sure you will meet him before the day is over. If you would get dressed, I'll introduce you to the young master."

Adalina nodded a little and returned to her room.

"What's wrong with Adalina?" Mey-Rin asked.

"I'm afraid she's lost some of her memories. She can't remember ever working here."

"That's so terrible, yes it is!"

"For now, just go about your business and try not to overwhelm her."

"Yes, sir!" the two servants answered.

Sebastian went to Adalina's room and knocked on the door. "Are you finished dressing?"

Adalina opened the door, all dressed in her normal maid clothing.

Sebastian smiled a little when he saw that the apron wasn't tied right. "May I?"

Adalina slowly nodded and turned around.

Sebastian quickly fixed the apron so that her uniform was properly adjusted.

"Very good. If you'll follow me."

The young woman followed Sebastian up the stairs and down the hall towards Ciel's study.

He knocked on the door before opening it, and she saw a very young boy sitting at a large desk sifting through various papers.

"This is the young master, Earl Phantomhive. You have worked for him for several years now."

She had worked here for _years_? Why couldn't she remember any of this?

Ciel tossed a confused look towards Sebastian. Sebastian sent him a look back that clearly told him to go along with it.

The boy came around his desk and took Adalina's hand. "It's good to meet you, Adalina."

"If you'll just wait outside, I'll be with you in a moment," Sebastian said to her.

Adalina nodded and exited the room.

"What's going on?" Ciel asked once the butler had closed the door.

"Adalina lost some of her memories as a result of the drug. I'm not sure if it's permanent or if they will eventually return to her, but as of right now, she cannot recall anything about being a servant here. If I'm correct, in her mind, she was either in captivity yesterday or she was poor on the streets. Either way, she recalls nothing about working here."

Ciel placed his hand over his face. "Splendid. Contact William _now_. I'm tired of Lukas coming after all of us."

Sebastian placed his hand over his chest and bowed. "Certainly, my young lord."

Adalina flinched a little as the door to the study opened and Sebastian walked out.

"I'll show you what your normal chores are so you can get started on those, and the other servants will help you out."

Adalina nodded as she followed him around the manor and watched as he showed her each of her jobs. It was a lot to remember and she had a feeling that she was going to forget some of it. Hopefully, he wouldn't get mad at her for not doing one of the jobs she was supposed to do.

"Try to do as much as you can. I have business to attend to, so I'll be going out for a few hours. If you have any other questions, just find Mey-Rin, Baldroy, or Finny. They won't be much help, but it's better than nothing."

Sebastian turned to leave when he felt a firm hand on his arm. He turned to find Adalina clutching his sleeve, her eyes wide and worried.

He was reminded of when he had first brought her to the manor. She had hardly ever left his side and looked afraid each time he said he was leaving as if she was terrified that he was never going to come back.

Every time she did something wrong, she panicked because she had learned to associate mistakes and even speaking with physical punishment. It took a while for Sebastian to calm her down and let her know that just because she made a mistake, nothing bad was going to happen to her. For a while, she was worried so often, he seriously questioned if hiring her was a good decision.

And there was that one incident…

* * *

 _The manor was quiet. The young master had gone to sleep, the servants had finished their chores and retired, Sebastian was the only one awake since he never slept anyway._

 _He went about cleaning the manor and patrolling the grounds like he did every night while the rest of the city slept._

 _Several times during the night, he attempted to sense if any soul that did not belong was approaching the manor, and several times, he had had to take care of intruders who meant his young master harm. It had taken a bit of time for him to dispose of them without waking the young earl who was in an absolutely terrible mood if woken up too soon._

 _When he sensed the souls of those in the manor, he picked something else up. Someone was having a very fitful rest. It most likely belonged to their newest resident._

 _Sebastian went down to the head maid's quarters and politely knocked on the door, for courtesy's sake if nothing else. When there was no answer, he went inside the room. The newest servant he had just hired earlier that day tossed and turned in her bed, small whimpers escaping from her mouth. Sebastian then realized that her vocals cords indeed worked which meant that she probably could speak, but she simply chose not to. She must've been through something really terrible to warrant her refusal to talk._

 _He slowly approached the bed to wake her. There was no need for the new servant to have a terrible night's sleep and be exhausted the next day. Then she wouldn't perform her duties correctly, and the young master certainly wouldn't hesitate to give him an earful for that._

 _"_ _Adalina," he said quietly as he lightly touched her shoulder._

 _Adalina's arm flew out and would've connected with Sebastian's face had he not been able to catch her wrist in time. Her eyes widened when she realized what she had done, and he could almost smell the panic emanating from her body._

 _"_ _You were having a bad dream," he said calmly._

 _This quite reminded him of when he had first started serving the young master. He had also had frequent nightmares when he had returned to the manor. There was only one thing to help._

 _"_ _If you'll follow me to the kitchen, I believe I know of something that will help you relax."_

 _Adalina hesitantly got out of bed and wrapped a shawl around her arms before following Sebastian down to the kitchen in the manor._

 _He soon handed her a mug filled with warm milk and honey. "The young master sometimes has nightmares as well. This particular drink always seems to calm him."_

 _Adalina took a small sip from the mug. It tasted incredible and did indeed help her feel more relaxed._

 _"_ _Better?"_

 _Adalina nodded just a little, but Sebastian could still sense her lingering fear._

 _"_ _Whatever may have happened to you before, you shall not come to any harm in this manor. All I ask in return for your presence here is that you serve the young master to the best of your ability and do whatever it takes to protect him."_

 _Adalina took a deep breath as she finished off the milk. She nodded again, and Sebastian smiled. It was much more reassuring than the constant smirk he had been giving her. It made her feel more at ease._

 _"_ _Get some rest now. You have a busy day tomorrow."_

 _That night, Adalina slept soundly for the first time in months._

* * *

At least now, Sebastian knew why she was so scared.

He longed to wrap her up in his arms and kiss her and let her know that nothing would ever happen to her as long as he loved her.

But he couldn't.

It had taken a long time before she was comfortable in the manor with the others enough to the point where she didn't have a panic attack each time something went wrong.

Then there came a time when she changed completely…

* * *

 _"_ _We have a guest coming today," Sebastian announced to the servants. "Please stay out of the way while he is here. Adalina and I will see to him."_

 _"_ _Yes, sir," the servants chorused._

 _Sebastian gave his overly polite smile to Adalina. "Come now, we must prepare."_

 _Adalina politely curtseyed and followed him towards the foyer where they would greet their guest._

 _The visitor ended up being a British nobleman who apparently did business with Ciel. Sebastian acted like his polite self with him, but Adalina couldn't help but notice a rather cold demeanor about him. Perhaps the British man was not as kind as he seemed. After all, Sebastian seemed to be an excellent judge of character._

 _The two servants stood to the side in Ciel's study as he met with the man, only moving to pour tea and serve food._

 _"_ _If you'll excuse us, my lord," Sebastian said with a small bow. "We shall retrieve the cake from the kitchen."_

 _"_ _Very well," Ciel said with a dismissive wave._

 _Sebastian quickly exited the study with Adalina close behind him. They headed down to the kitchen where Sebastian had spent a good amount of time creating a cake worthy of their visiting guest._

 _"_ _I'll finish everything here. You are free to retire for the evening."_

 _Adalina curtseyed again and left the kitchen. Realizing that she had previously left some cleaning supplies in the bathroom from earlier, she went to clean that up before Sebastian got upset for her carelessness._

 _On the way there, she saw their guest in one of the rooms quickly looking around him. Believing no one to be around, he quickly stuffed a couple of very expensive necklaces into his suit pocket._

 _Adalina's eyes widened a little. He was stealing from the earl? How long had this been going on?_

 _Before he could see her, she quickly got out of his sight so he could believe he was still in the clear._

 _She was not going to let him get away with this._

 _That night, as the British man was about to leave the manor, he quickly checked his pockets. Nothing was there. He frantically checked every pocket on him. No necklaces. Had he dropped them?_

 _"_ _Are you missing something?"_

 _The British man quickly turned around to see the butler and the head maid. "Uh, no. No, I'm not."_

 _"_ _Would it be these?"_

 _Adalina held up the two necklaces he had tried to steal. The British man looked at her in disbelief. How had she possibly gotten those from his suit pocket?!_

 _Sebastian must've rubbed off on her because she smirked. Just a little. Just enough to terrify him._

 _"_ _Stealing is not tolerated in this manor, sir."_

 _The man's jaw clenched. "It's not like he can't afford it. The stupid brat's got a million of those things. What's a couple necklaces gonna hurt? I just needed a bit of extra cash."_

 _Sebastian stepped closer to the man. "Perhaps I did not make myself clear." His eyes began to glow bright pink and his pupils turned into slits. "Stealing…is not…tolerated."_

 _The man began screaming as he ran out of the manor._

 _Sebastian returned to the head maid's side. "Well done, Adalina."_

 _For the first time since she had come to the manor, Sebastian sensed happiness from her._

* * *

Sebastian gave Adalina a small reassuring smile. "There's no need to be afraid, miss. I promise that no one here wishes you any harm, and we will do our best to help you retrieve your memories. I will return shortly, I assure you. And I never lie."

Adalina's grip on his sleeve slowly loosened, and she let go of him.

"For now, just do the jobs I showed you, and I'll be back to check on you soon."

Adalina curtseyed a little.

Wait…why had she done that? Why did curtseying in response to someone seem so normal?


	22. Chapter 22

Sebastian traveled to the Grim Reaper Dispatch, doing his best to avoid as many green Reaper eyes as he could. He just needed to see one particular Reaper and then all of this would be over with.

The stench of the place was overwhelming and Sebastian resisted the urge to cover his nose. He entered the Management Division and a female Reaper at the front desk narrowed her eyes as she saw him approaching.

"What's your business, demon?" the Reaper asked coldly. "You should know that your kind isn't welcome here."

"I need to speak to William T. Spears," Sebastian told the female, not bothering to hide the disdain in his voice. "It's urgent."

"What could possibly be so urgent that a demon is asking a Reaper for help?"

Sebastian's eyes glowed pink. "Get him…now."

The female Reaper just glared at him.

"I thought I smelled something foul," a monotone voice said next to him. "Why are you here…Sebastian?"

"DID SOMEONE SAY BASSY?!"

Sebastian put his hand to his head as it began to throb. Between the horrid odor of the Reapers and the one Reaper he had attempted to avoid more than any other, he hoped the young master would let him indulge in the luxury of sleep just for one night.

Grell appeared out of nowhere and launched himself towards Sebastian. "What are you doing here?!"

Sebastian side-stepped, and the redhead went crashing to the ground. He turned to look at William as Grell stood up and leaned onto his shoulder. "I need to speak with you. Now."

"I'm terribly busy at the moment," William answered as he adjusted his glasses.

"You'll want to make time for this. You have a rogue Reaper on your hands."

William's eyes narrowed. "Come with me."

The two of them went to William's office, Grell trailing close behind. Once Sebastian and William were inside the office, Sebastian firmly closed the door causing Grell to slam into the closed door.

Sebastian was very close to losing control the longer he stayed in such a place. He had never been to the Dispatch before and for a good reason. He hated Grim Reapers.

"What's the problem?" William asked him.

"One of your Reapers has been delivering his own sense of justice to criminals throughout London. Normally, I wouldn't really care, but he's started to interfere with my master's business and such cannot be tolerated."

"Who is it?"

"A Reaper by the name of Lukas Everett."

"Lukas…" William murmured. "He's a new Reaper. Arrived at the Dispatch on the 14th of April, currently preparing for his examination."

"Yes. Although he's doing more than preparing for soul harvesting. He's also made it his personal mission to eradicate myself, my young master, and the head maid of the manor."

"And you haven't caught him?"

"He's fast. Faster than any Reaper I've ever seen before."

"So a Reaper managed to get the best of a demon. How the tables have turned."

Sebastian fought the urge to change into his true form and rip William's head off. "I could say the same of you. This has been going on for weeks and you haven't even been made aware of it."

The two supernatural beings stared each other down.

Finally, William sighed. "It looks like I'm going to have to be working overtime yet again."

Without opening the door, the two of them took off out of the window of the office to London to find Lukas.

Grell hurriedly opened the door to find an empty office. "Well, how rude!" he exclaimed. He ran to the window in William's office. "Never fear, Bassy! We'll be together again soon!"

Demon and Reaper flew across the rooftops at top speed to find Lukas before he killed another human or worse, did something else to harm Ciel.

William stopped on one of the roofs and adjusted his glasses with his pruner. Then he extended the gardening tool and slammed the young Reaper in the back of the head just as he was about to bring his Death Scythe down onto a man cowering in the corner of an alley.

Lukas abruptly turned around. "Will?! What are you doing here?"

"Honestly…the amount of unpaid overtime this is going to cause…"

Sebastian hopped down in front of the man Lukas had been about to kill and knocked him into the wall. It wasn't hard enough to kill him, only to knock him unconscious.

William nimbly landed in front of Lukas. "Lukas Everett, you are in violation of regulations set forth by the Grim Reaper Dispatch."

"Yeah, but Will, listen, I did all this for a good reason!"

"You have killed people not on the 'To-Die' list, you are in possession of a stolen Death Scythe, and you have revealed your identity to multiple humans in exchange for their services."

"Yeah, but Will—"

"You will be brought to the Grim Reaper Council and disciplined for your actions."

"Will!" Lukas shouted. "Listen to me! I was killing humans who have committed crimes and were never punished for it! They deserved to die!"

"That is not for Grim Reapers to decide. We only deal with humans scheduled to die and do not concern ourselves with any others."

"Okay, fine, but I tried to get rid of that demon and that stupid kid who made a contract with him and some woman who is in love with him. You're the one who's always saying that demons and anyone associated with them are foul creatures."

"Perhaps, but that doesn't give us the right to attempt to eliminate them or any humans who have made contracts with them. That human has made their choice, and there is nothing us Reapers can do about it."

"Come on, I thought you'd want me to try to kill the demon…"

"It is true Reapers do not get along with demons. Demons do not get along with Reapers, but they usually do not go around trying to kill us all. They simply attempt to steal souls from us due to their insatiable greed."

"Didn't this one try to kill Grell a little while ago?"

"I was under orders from my master," Sebastian interjected. "Grell could've been another demon and I would've had no choice but to kill him. Fortunately for him, William stopped me before I could complete the order."

"We have all wanted to kill Sutcliff at one point or another," William continued. "But we do not. You are a young Reaper, and you have a long way to go before you can ever get out into the field again. Now hand over the Death Scythe."

Lukas clenched his jaw as he handed over the large sickle.

William tossed the sickle to Sebastian. "You'll see that gets returned to its rightful owner?"

"Naturally," Sebastian smirked.

"What happens now?" Lukas asked.

"You are suspended from reaping souls for an indefinite amount of time," William told him. "The Council will decide on your punishment. Come with me. Now."

"One moment," Sebastian said before the two Reapers departed. "Now while I agree that we cannot be attempting to kill each other all the time, there is one thing I simply must take care of before you go."

Sebastian calmly approached Lukas and punched him hard on the jaw. Had Lukas been human, his face might've been damaged beyond repair.

Sebastian's eyes glowed pink as he angrily grabbed a fistful of Lukas's hair.

"That is for Adalina," he growled.

Lukas stumbled back in fear. "Will, he just hit me! Aren't you going to do something?!"

William's eyes narrowed a little bit as he once again adjusted his glasses with his pruner. "Just this once, I'll allow it."

"What?!"

"Let's go. I now have an unbelievable amount of paperwork to complete thanks to you."

Sebastian watched the two Reapers depart feeling extremely unsatisfied. He wanted that Reaper to suffer. He wanted him to feel every inch of pain he had forced upon Adalina. He wanted to personally tear his limbs from his body.

Unfortunately for him, he wouldn't be able to do so. While Lukas was a corrupt Reaper, he was a Reaper all the same. Harming Grim Reapers was not easy at all, especially when William was nearby.

Instead, he closed the Death Scythe and put it into his coat pocket before heading to the shop where he could return it.

"Undertaker," he called as he stepped inside the funeral parlor.

"Why, if it isn't Sebastian Michaelis," the gray-haired man said as he popped up from behind the counter. "What brings you here?"

"I believe you've been missing something."

He procured the sickle and handed it to the Grim Reaper. Undertaker was the only Reaper Sebastian ever tolerated. Since he was technically retired, it made it a bit easier to be around him and it was true that he _had_ helped his young master on several cases.

"Ah, yes, I've been looking for this," the man laughed.

"I recommend keeping a better watch on such possessions. It fell into the hands of a young Reaper who had his own way of delivering justice."

"A Reaper vigilante, eh?"

"Yes. He hit Adalina with some kind of paralyzing drug, and now she's lost some of her memories. Are you familiar with such a drug?"

The man put his long black fingernails to his chin. "Now that you mention it, I think I am."

"Is the memory loss permanent?"

"I don't believe so. Her memories should come back eventually, but there's no telling how long it will take. They may come back all at once or they may come back a little at a time, and it may not be in the right order. It depends on the person."

"Thank you."

"Sebastian," the Undertaker called before he left the parlor. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, I can't have the Phantomhive head maid wandering about with no memories, now can I?"

The Undertaker laughed a little as Sebastian exited. "Mm-hmm."

Sebastian returned to the manor, curious to see how Adalina had gotten along without him.

Meanwhile inside Phantomhive Manor, Adalina was doing her best to do what was expected of her which was difficult as she didn't really know what was expected of her.

"Hey, Adalina!"

The young woman turned around as a blond-haired man flung his arm across her shoulders.

"Mind helping me out in the kitchen?"

Adalina tried to remember what his name was. It started with a B…

"Oh, right…I heard you lost some of your memory. The name's Baldroy, the cook at Phantomhive Manor. Anyway, I could use some help making dinner if you're up for it. You sometimes help me out in the kitchen when you've got time."

Adalina nodded a little since she wanted to learn her way about the manor more. She had already gotten lost three times while trying to complete her chores.

Baldroy led her down to the kitchen and showed her where all the utensils and food were kept.

Adalina hadn't cooked anything in a long time. Or at least, she couldn't remember how to cook anything. So she trusted Baldroy to help her make something.

That did not end up being a good decision.

When Baldroy attempted to cook the meat, he set the oven on fire. The man grabbed Adalina around the waist and flung her to the ground to avoid the fire's trajectory.

"Heh, heh…" Baldroy chuckled awkwardly. "Sorry about that. I should've warned you about my tendency to start fires by accident."

At that moment, Sebastian walked into the kitchen. "This is your idea of not overwhelming her?"

Baldroy quickly looked up at the sound of the butler's voice. "Oi, Sebastian, you're back already!"

With a sigh, Sebastian went over to Adalina and helped her off the ground. "Clean this up, Bard."

"Yeah, yeah…"

Sebastian escorted Adalina out of the kitchen and back towards the foyer, trying to keep his temper in check at seeing Baldroy on top of her. Sebastian may have true feelings towards her, but if demons were anything, it was possessive. That hadn't changed at all. He didn't particularly like anything threatening what was rightfully his.

"Adalina, there is one thing I want to make you aware of," he said to her as they walked.

The young woman looked up at the butler, secretly thankful he had returned to the manor unharmed.

"I know what happened to you before you were hired as a Phantomhive servant."

Adalina's eyes widened a little. How did he know about her past…? She couldn't have told him.

"It's complicated to explain how exactly I know, but I do. When I found you, you had been living on the streets for some time. You attempted to steal from me, but I saw your potential, and I hired you to work here rather than turning you over to Scotland Yard."

Why couldn't she remember any of this? What else had happened to her that she couldn't remember?

"The men who took you…they are dead now. You don't have to worry about them any longer. And the other captured girls have been freed."

Adalina was a bit confused as to how that had happened, but she didn't care so much. The fact was that all of the other girls who had been held prisoner with her would not be subjected to that cruelty any longer and the men would never come back to harm her again.

Adalina moved a bit closer to Sebastian as they continued walking. Something about him made her feel…safe.

* * *

Things went relatively back to normal all things considered. None of Adalina's memories returned, and if any did, she didn't let on that they had.

As the days progressed, Adalina relearned all her jobs and what was expected of her.

Basically, things were almost exactly the same as they had been before she had found out Sebastian's true identity.

Adalina began wondering if something had been going on between her and Sebastian prior to her memory loss. He acted a lot differently with her than he did with the other servants, and she wasn't exactly sure why. He seemed a bit more…attached to her. And for some reason, she felt extremely comfortable around him. She couldn't say what it was, but she kind of enjoyed being around him even if it was in complete silence.

Though Sebastian appeared calm on the outside, the whole situation was killing him. When Adalina had first found out he was a demon, all he had wanted was for things to return the way they were. He should be grateful that this happened. And if it had happened back then, he would be.

But now, he wasn't.

Adalina was the only woman he had ever truly loved, and now she couldn't remember anything about their feelings for one another. She couldn't remember all the times he had done everything to protect her. She couldn't remember their times training together. She couldn't remember when he had faked his death which helped her see that she cared about him. She couldn't remember him tending to her injuries and the very intimate moment they had been able to share.

He began to wonder if the Oracle had told her of what would have to happen if they desired to be together. If she did, it was no wonder she had been so upset when he had not kissed her. After all, by not kissing her, it was more than a simple rejection which was humiliating enough for humans in itself. She knew that he was choosing his power over her.

It didn't matter anymore because Adalina didn't remember that either which meant that she would never kiss him willingly anyway.

Every time he saw Adalina, he wanted to kiss her to see if that would force her memories to return or at least help her recall her feelings for him. But he couldn't. If it didn't work, she would be terrified of him for a really long time as she had been the last time he had forced himself on her, and things would be even worse than they already were. Not only that, but if their first kiss wasn't initiated by her, any chance of them being together was gone forever, and he could not let that happen. He had worked too hard to make sure that their chance at being together was not wasted.

One night, Adalina was bathing in the servants' bathroom after a really long day of doing her own chores and then helping the other servants with theirs since they had completely messed everything up. She wondered how she and Sebastian had managed to put up with their constant screw-ups for so long. They were the most incompetent servants she had ever seen. There had to be _some_ reason they were hired to work in the manor.

The warm water felt extremely relaxing on her aching muscles. She wished that she could remember more about her life here from before she lost her memories. It seemed like she lived a pretty good one here with the earl. He was a really good master to her, even if he was rather intimidating despite his young age. And though the servants were perfectly useless, they were very nice to her and always meant well.

All the same, this alone time was much needed.

Sebastian passed by the servants' bathroom and heard the sound of pouring water. Seeing as the other servants had retired for the evening, there was only one person who could be taking a bath now.

He knew that he shouldn't do it, but he couldn't help himself. He was still a demon after all.

He slowly opened the door to the bathroom, being extra careful not to let it creak so as not to alert Adalina of his presence. Her back was towards him as she sat in the bathtub pouring water over herself.

His eyes began to glow pink as he stared at her bare back which was covered in thin scars from the lash of the whip. His supernatural sight followed each and every bead of water that trailed down her pale skin. He desired nothing more than to run his bare hands over her curves and feel her flesh beneath his hands. He wanted his lips to graze over her bare shoulders like he had done several weeks ago.

He felt his fangs protrude as Adalina slowly ran her hands through her wet hair. If he didn't know any better, he'd say she was teasing him with something he could not have.

The young woman froze for a moment and turned around to look at the door. She felt as if someone had been watching her, but the door was closed.

Now that she thought about it, she had felt like someone had been watching her a lot recently. But surely she was still just on edge from being held captive. No one in the manor had any reason to spy on her, and it wasn't like someone could break into the manor. Not when Sebastian was around.

She wished she understood how that man seemed to be able to do anything and everything. He was a perfect butler. Almost too perfect.

* * *

Several nights later, Sebastian opened the door to Adalina's room very late. The young woman lay in bed asleep with one hand resting on her stomach while the other lay near her head. She looked more at peace than he had ever seen her.

Very slowly approaching the bed, he took one of his gloves off with his teeth. Then he gently rested his hand on her cheek, and for the first time in weeks, he got to feel her perfect skin underneath his fingers. He had forgotten how much he longed to touch her again like he had before.

Adalina stirred for a moment, but she did not awake. Sebastian fondled a few strands of her soft hair and rubbed his fingers against her cheek. In her sleep, she leaned into his touch which made him smile.

It frustrated him to know that this was the only moment he could be this close to her without any negative repercussions that would set them back even further.

Adalina suddenly opened her eyes and sprang up.

No one was there.

She _knew_ someone had been in here. But there was no one in the room and there certainly wasn't any place to hide. There was no logical explanation for the sure knowledge that someone had come into her room.

She gently reached up and touched her cheek. It was tingling a little for reasons she couldn't explain.

What she couldn't understand was why she didn't really feel afraid at the possibility of someone in her room. In fact, something about the lingering presence in the room…comforted her.

Adalina slowly lay back down to return to her sleep. She pulled the blanket up around her, her eyebrows creased together in thought.

Why wasn't she afraid?

Nothing about this place made any sense.

What she did not—nor would she ever—notice was the dropped white glove just at the side of her bed.


	23. Chapter 23

Adalina was doing her chores, minding her own business, when she was suddenly hit with a throbbing headache. Images flashed before her as she began to recall some of the events from her time at the manor. She remembered having to steal from people in order to survive. She remembered meeting Sebastian and his offer for her to work alongside him. She remembered working with Sebastian to scare off anyone who meant Ciel harm.

She remembered meeting the servants and the young master for the very first time…

* * *

 _Adalina and Sebastian entered through the servants' entrance of the manor._

 _The butler had taken off his tailcoat and put it around the young woman so as to help her regain a small shred of her modesty._

 _Adalina followed Sebastian nervously, a part of her still worried that this was all too good to be true and that something terrible was about to happen._

 _But her fears were never realized, and Sebastian remained the perfect gentleman._

 _"_ _Miss, I'm afraid that we don't have any clothing available at the moment, so you will have to borrow one of the housemaid's dresses," he explained to her. "I'll see about getting you something more suitable to wear before the day is out."_

 _"_ _Sebastian!" Finnian wailed as he ran to the butler. "I'm so sorry! I know you told me to be careful, but—" He stopped and looked over at the woman. "Who is this?"_

 _Sebastian smiled at the gardener, choosing to ignore his complaints for the time being and take care of them later. "This is our newest servant, Miss…"_

 _Sebastian stopped when he realized that he had never gotten the young woman's name. He quickly retrieved a piece of paper and a pen and handed them to her._

 _With a shaking hand, Adalina messily wrote out her name._

 _Sebastian took the paper back from her. "This is Miss Adalina."_

 _Finnian was confused about the exchange between them and why the woman hadn't just said her name, but he chose not to say anything and smiled broadly at her. "It's a pleasure to meet you!"_

 _Adalina made no response, and Finnian wondered for a moment if he had said or done something wrong._

 _"_ _Where's Mey-Rin?" Sebastian asked. "I am in need of her assistance."_

 _"_ _I'll go find her!" Finnian answered happily._

 _"_ _Bring Bard with you as well."_

 _Once Finnian had left the room, Sebastian turned to Adalina, sensing how scared and overwhelmed she was._

 _"_ _Please do not worry," he told her. "It may seem like a bit much now, but you will warm up to them quickly, I assure you. Once we get you into something more appropriate, I will take you to meet the young master."_

 _The other three servants entered the room._

 _"_ _You needed us, Mr. Sebastian?" Mey-Rin asked excitedly._

 _Baldroy and Mey-Rin looked over at the young woman much in the same way Finnian had._

 _"_ _Everyone, this is Adalina, our newest servant," Sebastian announced._

 _Adalina nervously bit her lip as they all stared at her for a moment._

 _Baldroy took a step towards her, and she subconsciously took a couple steps back away from him._

 _Realizing his mistake, Baldroy stopped. "Nice to meet ya."_

 _Sebastian gently put one hand on her shoulder. "Mey-Rin, please help Adalina into one of your dresses until she can get some clothing and uniforms."_

 _"_ _Of course, sir! If you'll just follow me, miss!"_

 _Adalina looked up at Sebastian for a moment._

 _"_ _And one more thing," the butler quickly added. "Adalina does not talk. So please don't be offended if she does not respond, and do not try to force it out of her as you will only be disappointed."_

 _There was a small bit of silence in the room as the servants processed what he was saying. Did Sebastian really hire a mute woman to work at the manor? And if their own histories were anything to go by, what was the real reason she was hired?_

 _Adalina followed Mey-Rin to her quarters, nervously clutching Sebastian's tailcoat around her body._

 _"_ _Now let me see…" Mey-Rin muttered as she went through her dresses and uniforms._

 _She pulled out a dark peach-colored dress with long sleeves and a black ribbon high on the chest._

 _"_ _I think this is the best thing that would fit for now. May I help you put it on?"_

 _Adalina swallowed thickly and let the tailcoat drop._

 _Mey-Rin tried not to stare at her clothing. For a brief moment, she wondered if Sebastian had hired a prostitute to work at the manor._

 _Adalina sensed Mey-Rin judging her clothing and self-consciously crossed her arms over her chest._

 _Mey-Rin silently berated herself for staring. After all, she was in no position to judge a fellow servant about her past._

 _None of the servants knew of one another's past before coming to work at the manor. It was an unspoken rule that they just didn't ask. If Mey-Rin didn't ask about theirs, they didn't ask about hers and that was how she wanted it. She was sure the same went for the young woman. If the multiple cuts and bruises all over her were any indication, her time before coming to the manor was anything but pleasant._

 _Mey-Rin quickly helped Adalina change into the dress. It was a little loose on her since she was skinnier than Mey-Rin due to her malnourishment over the past several months._

 _"_ _There you are! It looks lovely, yes it does! Now let's go find Mr. Sebastian!"_

 _Adalina followed the maid out of her quarters and back to the room by the servants' entrance._

 _Sebastian smiled when he saw the two women approaching. "Well done, Mey-Rin."_

 _Mey-Rin began blushing furiously. "T-thank you, sir!"_

 _The butler held his hand out for the young woman. "I shall now take you to meet the master."_

 _Adalina nervously took his hand and followed him up to Ciel's study._

 _Her heart pounded in her chest, afraid that the earl might reject her upon meeting her._

 _Sebastian politely knocked on the door before entering. "My lord, I have someone I would like you to meet. This is Miss Adalina. She will be a servant here at the manor."_

 _Adalina was shocked to find that the earl of the household was a child no older than 13. She had been expecting to meet a man at least in his early 20s. When Sebastian said he served a 'young master', she didn't realize he meant this young._

 _Ciel looked Adalina up and down, judging her appearance and how she carried herself. It took a moment, but he recognized her as one of the beggars off the street he had seen while in town working on a case._

 _What had Sebastian seen in her that made him hire her at this manor?_

 _"_ _Adalina, this is Earl Phantomhive."_

 _Ciel slowly approached her._

 _Unsure of what she was supposed to do, Adalina curtseyed._

 _The young boy held his hand out for her and she nervously took it. "I'm honored to have you here. Sebastian will fill you in on your duties here and what shall be expected of you."_

 _Adalina curtseyed again._

 _Ciel raised an eyebrow at her silence, but he didn't say anything._

 _Adalina released a small breath at his acceptance of her. Her life as a captive and her life on the streets were over. No one had tricked her. No one was going to hurt her._

 _She now had a new purpose._

 _She was officially a Phantomhive servant._

* * *

 _When Adalina returned to her room that night, she leaned against the wall and sank down to the floor._

 _Then she put her hands to her face and began crying._

 _Adalina wasn't exactly sure why she was even crying._

 _Maybe it was because the reality of her parents' death had finally hit her after all this time. Maybe it was because she was overwhelmed with relief that her previous life on the streets was really over. Maybe it was because she was afraid that this was all still too good for her and the master of the house would kick her out before she had time to appreciate her new position. Maybe it was because everyone in the manor had been so nice to her and she hadn't experienced that kind of warmth in years._

 _Whatever the reason was…she couldn't stop._

* * *

But what Adalina remembered most of all were two pink glowing eyes.

She remembered all about learning the truth of Sebastian. She remembered him forcing himself on her some nights after that encounter.

Adalina took shallow breaths as the images stopped.

She was living in the same house as a demon. Ciel had signed a contract with a demon. Why was she still living here if she knew of Sebastian's true identity?

Maybe that was why he was so attached to her. Maybe he had marked her without her knowing.

"Are you all right, Adalina?"

The young woman frantically spun around at the sound of the butler's voice.

Sebastian frowned as he sensed the fear coming from her. In fact, it was much like the fear he had sensed…when she had learned he was a demon.

"Have some of your memories returned?"

Her wide-eyed panicked stare gave him his answer.

"I'm assuming you remembered what I really am. Although, judging from your expression, you don't remember anything else. Adalina, please trust me when I say that I have no wish to harm you. In fact, we have worked together on a few cases the young master was completing for the Queen even after you learned the truth. You do not have to be afraid. I promise."

His promise meant nothing. He was a demon, and a demon's promise was worthless.

Breathing heavily in terror, Adalina turned and ran.

Sebastian stared after her and clenched his hands into tight fists. Once again, he desired to kill Lukas and make his death very slow and brutal. He had gotten so far in his relationship with Adalina and now here he was starting all over again with a woman who was absolutely terrified of him.

The only woman he had ever had feelings for, and she wouldn't get within a few feet of him.

He definitely knew better than to try his last approach when this happened.

He could only hope that the rest of her memories would return soon.

Adalina ran down the hallway in the opposite direction, desperately trying to put as much distance between her and Sebastian as she possibly could.

She wasn't paying attention to where she was going, and she ended up running straight into Baldroy.

"Hey, whoa, whoa!" the blond-haired cook exclaimed as he caught her to stop her from running. He put his hands on her shoulders. "Calm down, Adalina! What's the matter?"

Adalina looked up at him with wide, panicked eyes as she caught her breath.

"Did somethin' happen?"

What was she supposed to say? Did the other servants know of who Sebastian really was? How could they? She often wondered how they even knew their own names.

It wouldn't matter even if she did want to tell him. She couldn't say the words.

Instead, she just moved into Baldroy's arms. She knew he couldn't protect her from Sebastian, but the feeling of his comfort was enough for the moment.

The cook's eyes widened for a moment before he wrapped his arms around her. Never before had Adalina done this to him. She was always so secluded and wrapped up in her own thoughts that she didn't allow anyone else entrance. Whatever had happened to her must've been enough to completely shake her out of those thoughts.

"It's okay," he said quietly. "You're safe here."

* * *

"Hey, Sebastian."

Sebastian turned around when he heard his name called. "What is it, Bard?"

"What's goin' on with Adalina?"

"What do you mean?"

"She came up to me today in a total panic. I haven't seen someone that scared in a long time. Did somethin' happen to her?"

"Adalina has been through a lot in her life prior to becoming a Phantomhive servant as you can guess by her muteness. And she certainly went through a lot these past several months doing tasks for the young master."

"So you think she's gotten some of her memories back?"

Sebastian neither confirmed nor denied that claim.

"If she's rememberin' her past, that might explain it." Baldroy smirked a little as he began walking away. "It's funny. I thought for sure you'd be the one she'd go to in that instance."

Sebastian once again fought to keep down his temper. He had had to control his temper a lot in the past, especially when dealing with the three idiot servants, and multiple times he had been extremely close to killing them.

But this took the cake.

Adalina was getting too close to Baldroy for his liking. Just because he had rejected her didn't mean that someone else could have her. If he seriously ended up losing her to that idiot chef, someone was going to die.


	24. Chapter 24

Adalina was completely on edge for weeks since some of her memories had returned. How had she lived in the same house as a demon all this time? Why hadn't he just stolen her soul already?

Her heart hammered in her chest when she recalled the feeling of someone being in her room not too long ago. It had to have been Sebastian. No one else could move fast enough to get out of the room before she awoke.

He must have been coming in to steal her soul while she was asleep!

How could she possibly protect herself against that?

But then…if that was true…why did she feel so comforted by his presence all this time? Even the presence that lingered in her room when he had snuck in?

It just didn't make any sense…

She had spent a lot of time with Baldroy in the past few weeks. For the most part, if she was with him, Sebastian left her alone.

Of course, the reason Sebastian had to leave them alone was because each time he saw Baldroy and Adalina together, whether it was them cooking meals or they were simply casually talking as she gave him one of her small smiles, he had to keep himself from ripping the cook's arms and legs from his body.

The same went for whenever he saw her with Finnian out in the gardens.

Adalina liked being outside amongst all the flowers and away from Sebastian. And Finnian was such a bundle of joy and happiness that it was impossible for her to feel afraid when around him.

Sebastian wanted nothing more at the moment than to go to the Grim Reaper Dispatch and personally injure Lukas to the point where it would be centuries before he would even be able to walk again, much less go out and reap souls.

But it was nearly impossible for even him to secretly get inside the Dispatch. The Reapers had highly acute senses of smell, and it wouldn't take long for them to figure out a demon had infiltrated their headquarters. He could admit that he wouldn't fare so well against that many Reapers and Death Scythes.

After Lukas's infractions, the young Reaper was going to be kept under strict watch which meant that it would be even more impossible for Sebastian to get to him.

The fact that the Reaper was going physically unpunished for his crimes was not helping Sebastian's mood.

Ever since Adalina remembered he was a demon, he had had to exhibit more control than usual, and pretty much everyone noticed. The servants treaded on eggshells around him, and even Ciel was a bit wary around him despite knowing that Sebastian could not hurt him per their contract.

The only way Sebastian knew how to make it so that Adalina wasn't afraid of him anymore was if she either regained more of her memories or he saved her from something like last time. Normally, he wouldn't have any problem organizing some kind of kidnapping or something of the like for him to save her from so she would trust him again. But now it was different. He couldn't bring himself to willingly put her in any danger. If anything went wrong (unlikely, but possible), he would never be able to forgive himself.

Adalina was heading to Ciel's study when she heard her name called. She turned around to see Finnian approaching her.

A part of her prepared for the worst. Had he messed something else up yet again that she would have to fix?

Instead of any of that, Finnian looked down at the ground and held out a deep red rose for her. She noticed that he had already removed all of the thorns from the stem. "I know you've been kind of nervous lately since you lost your memories and I know that's probably kind of scary, so I thought I'd give you this, 'cause, you know, it's pretty, like you."

Even if Adalina could speak, she wouldn't know what to say. She was beyond touched at the small act of kindness.

Her hand slowly reached out and took the flower from him. Unable to say anything, she gave him a small hug.

A trace of a blush crossed Finnian's face since Adalina had never done anything like this before even when she did have all of her memories. He had no idea a rose would mean so much to her. If he had known that this would be her reaction, he would've given it to her much sooner.

Sebastian watched the interaction with fury. It should be him that Adalina hugged. But if he attempted to give her a flower of any kind, she would most likely burn it.

It was not fair that she was now comfortable with everyone in the household except him. It seemed as if she didn't remember why the servants had been hired in the first place.

Why couldn't she have remembered that instead of his true identity? He was supposed to be the one she was more comfortable with than anyone. And she had been before Lukas completely ruined everything.

A part of Sebastian knew that he was partly to blame for this whole mess. If he hadn't rejected her kiss before, he would be human by now and she would have nothing to fear. Then he could be close to her and easily get her to fall in love with him again.

Adalina knocked on the door to Ciel's study.

"Yes?" his voice called.

She slowly walked inside.

"Adalina? What is it?"

He handed her a piece of paper to write on. When she gave it back to him, he saw she had written 'Soma & Agni' on it. He hadn't even realized she remembered who they were.

"You want to go see them?"

Adalina nodded.

"Why?"

The head maid looked away from him for a moment. Ciel had a feeling that she simply just wanted to get out of the manor. Sebastian had told him that a few of her memories had returned, including the one where she had found out that he was really a demon. If this time was anything like last time, she must be terrified of him all over again. While he was furious that they were back to that point, getting angry with her wouldn't do any good especially since it wasn't her fault to begin with.

"I don't have a problem with you visiting them," he finally said to her. "I'm sure Sebastian can take over for you until you return. Take one of the carriages, but take Bard with you. And make sure you are back before nightfall."

Adalina smiled a little before she curtseyed and hurried out of the room. She headed towards the kitchen to find the blond cook.

"Hey, Adalina," Baldroy smiled. "Need somethin'?"

Adalina held out the piece of paper she had written on previously.

"Are they comin' here?"

She shook her head and pointed to the both of them before motioning outside.

"We're goin' to them? Why isn't Sebastian goin' with you?"

She shook her head several times which caused Baldroy to laugh a little.

"Okay, I get it, no Sebastian. That's odd, though, the two of you usually do all the travelin' together. Doesn't matter though. I suppose you've already told the young master this?"

She nodded again.

"All right. Then go to the townhouse it is."

Adalina smiled a little as the two of them headed out of the manor and got inside a carriage to see Soma and Agni.

* * *

"Mey-Rin?" Sebastian called.

Mey-Rin blushed. "Yes, Sebastian?"

"Have you seen Adalina and Bard? I cannot seem to find them."

"They went to the townhouse, they did. Something about seeing Prince Soma and Agni."

Sebastian turned on his heel and went straight towards Ciel's study. Because he was still a servant, he had to stop himself from barging in. Instead he knocked on the door doing his best to not pound on it.

"What is it now?" Ciel called.

Sebastian quickly walked inside. "Why are Bard and Adalina going to the townhouse?"

"Adalina wanted to go, and she needed someone to accompany her. I thought she could use a break from being around you since she's been having a lot of anxiety about you these past couple of weeks. The break will do her good and get her back to protecting the manor the way she should be."

"My lord, you cannot possibly trust that man to protect her."

"I trust him to protect me, don't I?"

"Well, yes, but that is when he is here and has access to the guns and weapons he needs."

"Bard won't let anything happen to her."

"The last two times she went into town, she has gotten caught in very bad situations, one even I couldn't prevent from happening."

"Well, the Grim Reaper has been taken care of, and Adalina now knows self-defense and is capable of protecting herself."

"She cannot remember learning any of that."

"Why do you care anyway?"

Sebastian fought to keep his eyes from glowing. "It is not important, my lord."

"Good. Now since Bard's gone, you're responsible for lunch and dinner. Shouldn't be too difficult since you usually do his job anyway."

"Yes, my young lord."

As Sebastian left the room, he gritted his teeth together, his fangs beginning to show as it got harder to maintain his human form. His whole body shook with anger and the feeling he got when someone tried to take his contracted soul.

If that brat didn't have such a delicious soul, he would be dead by now.

He knew that he had to get rid of this anger, or the next person who even looked at him was going to suffer greatly and that would ruin his butler aesthetics he worked so hard to follow.

He quickly exited the manor and leapt up into the air before taking off at a fast speed to a forest far from the manor so neither his young master nor any of the servants could hear any results of his anger.

Once he was sure he was secluded from the rest of the city, his eyes began to glow as black feathers dropped to the ground. Sebastian shed his human form and transformed into his hideous true form.

With a loud enraged shout to the sky, at least twenty trees experienced the wrath of the demon's fury. They fell to the forest floor completely covered in deep scratches that couldn't belong to any animal. The ground got torn up and mutilated in such a way that the next person who walked through the forest would believe that there was some kind of monster loose.

Once his tantrum had subsided, Sebastian composed himself and turned back into his human form. He took a few deep breaths as he surveyed the damage he had caused. It was pretty terrible, but he had done worse in the past.

If Baldroy let anything happen to Adalina, he wasn't so sure he would be able to control himself again.

* * *

Adalina smiled a little as the carriage pulled up to Ciel's townhouse. It stopped in front, and Baldroy stepped out first so he could help Adalina out. He may be a terrible cook, but he did know how to be polite.

Before they could even make it to the door, Prince Soma raced out and hugged Adalina. She lightly patted his arms in a rather pathetic return hug. Were they this close before?

"What are you doing here?" he practically yelled. "We were not expecting you for a long time! You just visited only a couple months ago."

Adalina furrowed her brows together. She hadn't seen Soma and Agni in almost a year…right?

"Adalina's lost some of her memories," Baldroy explained for her. "They're starting to come back a little at a time, but it's slow."

"My prince, I was wondering where you had run off to," Agni called as he stepped outside as well. He clapped his hands together and bowed at the two of them. "Namaste jī."

Baldroy clapped his hands together as well. "Yeah, namas…what you said."

Soma threw himself on Agni weeping hysterically like only he could do. "Oh, Agni, it is terrible! Adalina has lost her memory, and only some of it has come back!"

Tears formed in Agni's eyes also as he gently held the prince. "Prince Soma, please stay strong for her sake. We must pray that her memories will return in time."

Adalina looked up at Baldroy for a moment, wondering if this was really happening in front of her. She knew the two men could be rather emotional, but all this over something as trivial as her memory loss?

"Come inside," Agni said to them. "I just finished preparing lunch."

The four of them went inside the townhouse and headed to the dining room. Agni happily served them all even though two of them were servants. When they tried to help, he insisted that they were guests and that he should be the one serving them, not the other way around.

"Why did you decide to come here?" Soma asked.

"Bit of a social call this time," Baldroy answered for her. "I guess the young master thought Adalina needed a break or somethin', but he didn't want her going alone. I was elected to go with her this time."

"Wait a minute, why are you here instead of Sebastian?"

"You got me. I was told to bring her here, so I did."

"I do not mind. As I mentioned to Adalina, Sebastian is rather frightening."

Baldroy chuckled. "He can be, but he's human enough."

Adalina wanted to laugh at the sheer irony of that statement.

"I have never met a human who could be so intimidating."

"Ain't that the truth."

That was because he wasn't human. He was a demon. That was the whole reason she was here. She just needed to be away from him for a little while. Just for a couple hours.

She wondered if he could easily find her no matter where she went. Now that she was this connected to him, could she ever really escape him?

No need to think on those things now. Now she was visiting with two people she considered to be friends, even if she couldn't remember every encounter between them.

The four of them sat and talked (well, the three of them talked while Adalina listened and gave the occasional nod or shake of the head) for a while and for a few moments, Adalina actually felt really relaxed. The extreme tension and anxiety she had been feeling these past few weeks were lifted off her shoulders.

At one point, she gave just a tad more than her usual barely noticeable smile, and it almost made Soma have a heart attack seeing as he had never seen such a thing from her before.

Time went by too fast, and before she realized it, the sun had started to go down. She knew that they had to get going if they were to be back at the manor by nightfall. The last thing she wanted was to be in the same house as a demon _and_ an angry master.

Soma tackled her in another hug. "I do not want you to leave yet!"

"She probably don't wanna leave either," Baldroy smiled. "But the young master ordered us to be back soon."

"Well, fine. But do not stay away too long. And please let us know if all of your memories come back!"

"Farewell, my friends," Agni smiled. "We look forward to your return."

Adalina curtseyed before she and Baldroy headed back to the carriage.

Baldroy noticed on the ride back that she looked just a bit happier than she had on the way there.


	25. Chapter 25

As Adalina was outside tending to the flowerbeds that Finnian had once again murdered, she could just barely make out quiet footsteps approaching the manor. She looked up and saw someone who was unsuccessfully trying to hide from her amongst the many trees surrounding the manor. The more she scanned the grounds, the more people she could see. She counted five, but she had no doubt that there were more of them hiding out of her sight.

She pretended she didn't see them so she could go back inside and inform Ciel that he had intruders. She was sure she could not fight them on her own.

As soon as she turned her back, she felt someone grab her shoulder from behind. On complete instinct, Adalina grabbed the hand of her assailant and twisted him around so she was free. With his arm twisted in such a painful position that he couldn't move, she kicked him hard in the gut. More intruders came out of hiding and ran to attack her. There were indeed more than she had initially seen.

Adalina fought all of them with her own bare hands, dodging each and every attack and inflicting many of her own. She managed to incapacitate a couple of her attackers and was beginning to lose stamina when gunshots were fired from above her.

She spun around and looked up towards the roof of the manor to find Mey-Rin and Baldroy. Baldroy held a large shotgun and Mey-Rin held two handguns that they were aiming from two different look-out posts. They both sent her small nods.

Her eyes widened in surprise. The useless servants were expert snipers?!

Another intruder Adalina hadn't yet seen aimed his gun at the head maid.

"ADALINAAAAA!"

Finnian came in front of her and tossed a huge marble statue they kept in the back gardens at the assailant. The intruder couldn't run away fast enough, and the statue came crashing down on both legs, undoubtedly breaking at least one of them.

How in the world had someone as young as Finnian been able to lift a huge statue?!

"Are you okay?" the young boy asked her.

Adalina looked at the gardener with wide eyes, stunned at the realization that no one working in this manor was normal.

"It's okay! I know I'm strong, but I would never hurt you!" He lightly touched the thin sandy-colored scarf around his neck. "I could never hurt you. You made this for me…It helped me to hide something important…"

She took a step back from him and from the dead intruders and looked at her hands in disbelief.

…How had she just done all of that fighting? She had never learned any of those moves she had just performed. And yet, the injured intruders in front of her proved otherwise.

"Finny, go inside," a familiar voice announced.

"Yes, sir," Finnian said quickly as he bounded back inside the manor.

Sebastian approached a wary Adalina. She was still breathing heavily and was not taking her eyes off her hands or the intruders she had taken down.

He lightly touched her shoulder, and she nearly jumped a foot in the air as she turned around. She tensed up and backed away from him a little.

"I trained you to do all of those techniques," he told her. "We spent hours nearly every day together so I could teach you how to defend yourself. It appears that though you've lost your memory, your muscles have not forgotten what you learned."

This was far too overwhelming for the young woman. In her time at the manor, she had served alongside a demon, two expert snipers, and a kid with more strength than an army, and then learned self-defense from said demon? What was this life she lived?

Another headache came crashing down on her, and she bent over in pain as she pressed her fingers to her temple.

"Adalina!" Sebastian exclaimed, lightly holding her elbows before she toppled over.

Adalina tightly gripped his arms, the pain making her forget that she was afraid of him. Another set of images flashed before her eyes.

She remembered these servants and their abilities…She remembered helping them when they had intruders…

* * *

 _"_ _Alright, we've got people coming up to the manor," Baldroy announced to the other servants. "Here's the plan. Mey-Rin, load up and head to the roof."_

 _"_ _Yes, sir!" Mey-Rin answered as she pushed her glasses on top of her head._

 _"_ _Finny, go around back in case any of them come that way."_

 _"_ _Right!" Finnian saluted._

 _"_ _I'll take the front of the house. Adalina, you and Tanaka go guard Lady Elizabeth."_

 _Adalina nodded once._

 _All of the servants quickly headed to their appropriate positions._

 _Adalina headed upstairs with Tanaka towards the room where Lady Elizabeth was sleeping._

 _Just as they got there, the body of a small boy crashed through the window with a bullet wound in his head and his body covered in the resulting spray of blood._

 _Upon closer inspection, Adalina realized it wasn't a boy at all, but an older teenager who had simply stopped growing._

 _It was sad that he had been killed, but the protection of the manor came first. If these people were coming here in the middle of the night, she had no doubt their intentions were anything but good._

 _And it was the servants' job to take care of them._

 _Adalina and Tanaka quietly opened the door halfway to Lady Elizabeth's room, using the door to shield the body of the intruder._

 _Elizabeth was already out of bed and halfway towards the door, clutching a Funtom bunny in her arms._

 _"_ _Oh, you're awake, Lady Elizabeth," Tanaka said kindly. "Whatever is the matter?"_

 _"_ _I guess I was just startled," Elizabeth answered quietly. "Did you hear a loud noise just a moment ago?"_

 _"_ _Ho, ho, ho, I haven't heard a peep all night. You must've dreamed it, Lady."_

 _"_ _It seemed so real though. But I suppose if you didn't hear anything…"_

 _"_ _Now, please, my Lady, get back into bed before you catch cold. There's nothing to worry about, I can assure you. Adalina will be right outside the door if you need anything."_

 _Adalina gave her a small smile and a curtsey._

 _"_ _Alright," Elizabeth answered as she returned to bed. "Thank you, Adalina."_

 _Tanaka closed the door again. "I'll patrol the halls and take care of this one. Stay on guard here and clean up the mess."_

 _Adalina nodded again and positioned herself outside the Lady's room. The intruders would get in here over her dead body._

 _Tanaka removed the body of the green-clad stranger from the hallway._

 _When he was gone, Adalina quickly mopped up all the blood so that if Lady Elizabeth ended up leaving the room again, she wouldn't know that someone had just been killed._

 _The shattered window might be a bit difficult to explain, but it was easier to explain that away than a huge puddle of blood._

 _Once her task was complete, Adalina continued to keep watch. Every few seconds or so, a loud crash sounded out in various places of the manor. She winced with each noise, hoping Lady Elizabeth was sleeping deep enough that she didn't hear it._

 _She removed her apron and shoved it in the small crack underneath the door to the room. It wouldn't do much to muffle the noises, but it would help a little bit._

 _Suddenly, there was a loud boom in the direction of the kitchen._

 _Baldroy must've started using his explosives again. As helpful as they were in these situations, couldn't he have been a bit quieter with their unexpected guest in the house?_

 _Finally, all of the noises ceased, and Adalina breathed a sigh of relief. Not a peep from Lady Elizabeth._

 _The manor was safe._

* * *

Books. There was something about books…

* * *

 _Adalina walked along the large bookshelves in the Phantomhive library. Her fingers lightly skimmed across the titles, not really looking for one in particular._

 _"_ _Do you enjoy reading?"_

 _Adalina jumped a little at Sebastian's voice behind her. How he always managed to sneak up on her so well eluded her._

 _She slowly nodded her head._

 _"_ _Is there a particular genre you prefer?"_

 _Adalina looked at the books in front of her for a moment. Then she pulled one of them off the shelf._

 _Sebastian looked at the cover of the book she handed him:_ The Leavenworth Case _._

 _"_ _So you enjoy reading mysteries?" he asked with a smirk._

 _Adalina nodded a little and looked back at the shelves._

 _Sebastian reached up behind her and grabbed a book off one of the taller shelves. "You might enjoy this one then."_

 _Adalina looked at the cover:_ A Study in Scarlet _._

 _"_ _The young master enjoys reading mysteries as well. Mr. Arthur Doyle is a favorite of his."_

 _Adalina gave the smallest smile Sebastian had ever seen on a human._

 _But it was more than she had yet to give during her employment at the manor. At least she was finally warming up to her new life._

 _"_ _The library is free for you to use. When you are not working, the young master will allow you to choose a book to read at your leisure."_

 _Adalina hugged the book close to her as if it was her greatest treasure._

* * *

No…that wasn't the most recent thing about books…

There was something else…

Adalina could remember Ciel asking her to retrieve books from the bookstore. She remembered getting captured by two men on the street. She remembered getting put into an auction to be sold into prostitution.

She remembered Sebastian coming to save her.

The images stopped, and Adalina gasped a little to recover from the onslaught of memories.

She looked up at Sebastian who was holding her to make sure she was steady.

"Did you remember something else?"

Adalina slowly nodded her head.

Sebastian smiled a little. She was clearly much more at ease than she had been before which had to mean she at least wasn't terrified of him anymore.

"How much?"

The young woman held up her thumb and index finger with only a bit of space between them.

"You recall me saving you from a cage?"

Adalina nodded again.

"I told you…you do not have to fear. I do not wish to harm you, and the master has sworn that he will never order me to do so. No one at the manor wishes to you any harm."

Adalina nodded once more and took a deep breath. While she wished she could remember more, that was certainly something to go on. At least now she knew Sebastian didn't have it out for her.

She felt a little guilty that for the past several weeks, she had purposefully avoided him when he had actually been telling the truth about not wanting to hurt her.

"Since we now know that you haven't exactly forgotten your training, I believe we can resume."


	26. Chapter 26

Sebastian began to re-train Adalina nearly every day in between chores. Unconsciously, she remembered everything he had taught her. Her mind didn't remember learning anything, but her muscles certainly did.

During some of the times he was re-teaching her self-defense, he would see her hand go to her waist to grab something that wasn't there. It appeared that her arm knew that a weapon was supposed to be at her waist and she kept trying to grab the nonexistent object. Since Adalina didn't remember that she used a whip against attackers, the whip was not at her side.

Once she had gained back most of her knowledge of fighting, he gave her her whip back and began retraining her to use the weapon. It came to her even faster than before seeing as her body had not forgotten those lessons either.

Sebastian was quite pleased at her quick progress.

But he was even more pleased that Adalina finally wasn't scared of him anymore. While fighting each other may not have been the most romantic thing for them to do, it did allow him to touch her again.

He savored each and every second her body touched his, even if those touches were nothing more than attempted attacks against him in order for her to perfect her skills.

Adalina hung up some laundry in the yard to dry, satisfied that she was coming along so well in her training times with Sebastian. The more she worked with him, the more her memories of training with him before came back to her. She still didn't remember anything else, but maybe if she just continued working normally, the rest of her memories would soon return to her.

She picked up the laundry basket that contained the clean clothes and sheets she had taken down that were ready to be put away. Then she started to head inside.

Suddenly, one of the laundry lines snapped off one of the posts. It whipped across Adalina's back, and though it didn't slice very deep into her skin at all, she froze.

The laundry basket dropped from her hands, the clean linens inside sprawling everywhere.

She wasn't in the yard at the manor anymore. Her mind had quickly taken her back into that room where she was whipped when she got caught stealing. Laughter from the men echoed in her ears and reverberated around in her brain.

Her legs gave out and she sank to the ground.

"Adalina?" Finnian said in confusion when he saw the young woman on the ground, the laundry basket toppled over next to her. He slowly approached her. "Are you okay?"

The head maid gave no response. She continued to stare blankly ahead of her.

"Adalina?"

She still did not show any sign that she had heard him or even saw him in front of her. Her breathing was heavy but not fast, as if she was trying to catch her breath after running for a long time.

Afraid of making things worse if he did anything to her, Finnian quickly went to go retrieve Sebastian. Sebastian always knew what to do.

"Mr. Sebastian!" he called frantically.

"What did you do now, Finny?" Sebastian sighed.

"No, it's not me! Something's wrong with Adalina."

Sebastian didn't wait for Finnian to explain the situation further. He quickly went out to the yard and saw the same scene the gardener had witnessed.

He slowly knelt in front of the young woman.

Adalina could feel a small line of blood making its way down her back.

Loud deep laughter filled her senses. Then someone slowly counting up joined the noise. The numbers were drawn out, the person taking his time in between each of them.

Adalina waited for the pain to hit her back again. She waited for more skin to break to join the other lacerations, both healed and fresh.

" _Adalina…_ "

Another voice mixed in with the laughter and the numbers.

She knew that voice. That tender voice.

That's right. She wasn't alone with her captors. She wasn't being whipped. She hadn't been captive for a long time.

" _Adalina…_ "

The same voice broke through the sounds once more.

She focused on that voice, making it her tether to reality. The more she focused on that voice, the more the laughter and the numbers faded away.

Adalina slowly blinked her eyes.

Kneeling in front of her was Sebastian.

His gloved hands were pressed against the sides of her face, gently holding her head in his hands.

"There you are," he smiled.

Adalina lightly pressed one of her hands to his.

Some part of her knew that this wasn't the first time this had happened. She had a distinct feeling that Sebastian had done something like this with her before.

As she met his crimson eyes, she also knew that this experience was not as bad as whatever had happened previously.

No matter what had happened that she couldn't recall, she knew that from now on, she didn't have to worry about losing herself to her past again.

Because even if something triggered a memory, she knew she didn't have to be afraid. Not when she was working alongside four other servants who would do anything to protect her.

* * *

Adalina was working outside when noises behind her caused her to turn around. A man with the brightest red hair she had ever seen in her life leapt down to stand in front of her. What caused her concern was not so much his sharp teeth but the large saw-like thing resting on his shoulder.

"To think an insignificant little thing like you would give me so much trouble," the man said with a scowl.

Her brow furrowed in confusion. Was this another person who knew her who she just couldn't remember? She could almost put her finger on it…

"I'm rather glad you appeared on my list! If anyone deserves to reap your soul, it's me."

Adalina wondered if he had recently visited Lau's opium den she had overheard Ciel talking about recently and spent a bit too much time there.

"How could someone like you steal my Bassy from me?! You're just a pathetic human who doesn't even talk!"

She guessed that 'Bassy' referred to Sebastian. What did he mean that she stole him away from him?

"You deserve everything I'm about to do to you! How dare someone like you get in the way of our love!"

The man started up the saw so it moved around in deadly circles.

Clearly, this man was not completely sane. And the weapon he held in his hands made him even more dangerous.

Adalina skillfully dodged the saw as he attempted to bring it down on her.

She quickly grabbed her whip tied at her waist. The two engaged in battle between whip and chainsaw.

Adalina did her best to dodge the mysterious weapon and attempt to take it from the man's hands if she could. The saw came too close to her several times and while it didn't do any serious damage, she did pick up a lot of wounds.

The young woman flung her whip at him and caught one of his hands. When he yanked on it, she used the propulsion to swing herself up onto his shoulders. She carefully dodged the chainsaw when he tried to hit her with it while she was on top of him. When he threw his hand up, she grabbed the chainsaw from him and tossed it away from them.

The added weight on his shoulders caused him to lose his balance, and they both went crashing down to the ground. Adalina retrieved her whip and went to crack it towards him again. However, a long pole appeared out of nowhere, and the whip wrapped around that rather than heading for the man.

When Adalina looked up, she saw a very stoic man dressed in a suit standing atop one of the tree branches.

"Honestly…" he said in a deep monotone voice. He retracted the tool letting the whip fall slack again. He then nimbly hopped down from the tree to stand beside the redhead. When he got a good look at Adalina, he politely averted his eyes.

Adalina looked down and saw that her maid uniform had been shredded in several places by the man's strange weapon during their fight. It didn't reveal anything extremely indecent but definitely more than was appropriate. She crossed her arms over her chest in embarrassment.

The stoic man removed his suit jacket and handed it to her, still not looking at her. Adalina slowly took the jacket from him and put it on to cover herself, wondering who these two men were and why they carried such peculiar tools and had strange abilities.

"Please forgive us," he said in the same monotone voice. "Grim Reapers are usually not so unprofessional."

Had she just heard that right? Grim Reapers?

Surprisingly to her, she accepted it quickly. If demons existed, why not Grim Reapers?

"My name is William T. Spears. We have never officially met, but you've run into one of our Reapers before, a Lukas Everett."

Adalina looked at him blankly. She didn't recall ever meeting a Lukas Everett or even a Grim Reaper before. But then she didn't recall a lot of things.

William glared at the redhead. "What do you think you're doing, Sutcliff?"

The mention of the surname made her realize why the man seemed so familiar. This guy was the awful butler who had worked for Ciel's aunt, Madam Red!

He was actually a Grim Reaper all this time?

"I'm _working_!" Grell insisted. "Really, Will, I am!"

"Is she even on the list?"

"Yes! Ronald informed me of who she was when he saw her name! He told me my darling Bassy was in love with her!"

"You know as well as I do that demons do not love, and they certainly don't love humans."

Even as William said it, he didn't believe his own words. If Sebastian didn't love Adalina, he wouldn't have punched Lukas in the face on her behalf or come to seek his help only after she had been hurt. How the demon had fallen in love, he didn't know nor did he care.

"Let me see your list," William demanded.

Grell obediently handed him his small book full of the names of humans whose souls needed to be reaped.

William glanced at it before calmly but sharply hitting Grell with his pruner.

"What was that for?!" Grell exclaimed.

"The soul you are supposed to reap is Ada _line_ , you incompetent fool. This is Ada _lina_. Didn't you work with this woman before?"

"Ronald was the one who led me to believe it was her."

"You are both idiots. Though your time spent at this manor was strictly forbidden, you should have at least known you were attempting to reap the wrong soul. Go back to the Grim Reaper Dispatch. You are going to be seriously demoted for this infraction."

"What?!"

"Meanwhile, I now have to work overtime, and I so loathe overtime." William turned to Adalina and gave her a small bow. "My apologies for the grief he has caused you. I am now in your debt. If you need anything of me, I shall comply to your wishes within reason." He handed her a small business card with his name on it before turning back to Grell. "Get moving."

"But I never got to see Bassy!"

"You're not going to be seeing anyone for a while."

William grabbed the back of his coat leapt into the air with him.

"Bassy, my love!" Grell called as he was taken away. "I shall return for you! Wait for me!"

William rolled his eyes.

He spared a glance back at Adalina for a moment. She was rather impressive for a human. To do what she had done with a Reaper was no ordinary feat. She had a will to survive that far surpassed any other human he had seen before. When the time came to reap her soul, that Reaper was probably going to have to face quite the challenge. He would have to make sure to assign one of his more experienced Reapers to her.

Adalina looked up and watched the Reapers go. Their earlier words ran through her head over and over again. The possibility was slim, but if Grell was speaking the truth…was Sebastian really in love with her even if demons didn't love?


	27. Chapter 27

Ever since her encounter with the Grim Reapers, Adalina spent much of her time questioning how Sebastian really felt about her. Grell had said that the butler was in love with her, but William explicitly stated that demons don't love. If she was going to choose between the two, she was more willing to believe William.

For the most part, Sebastian hadn't really given any indication that he saw her as anything other than a fellow servant.

She could admit that his demeanor was somewhat different around her, but she always assumed the reason for that was simply because they were the head servants of the household and spent more time in each other's company than they did with the other servants.

But the more she thought about their interactions over the course of the last several months (and she had thought about it a lot), some of his actions did seem to indicate that he felt something towards her, whether it be love or some other emotion demons _did_ feel. On multiple occasions, especially recently, he had gone out of his way to somehow touch her without making her uncomfortable. She didn't think too much of it, but there were times were touching her was not entirely necessary and he did it anyway.

Then there was the whole incident where he had come into her room while she was sleeping and she woke up to her skin tingling.

It was a little intimidating to know he had come to her room while she was unconscious, but she hadn't been scared at the time nor was she too scared about it now. She knew that he had no ill intentions towards her. There really wasn't another explanation for him coming into her room.

If he really did have feelings for her, why hadn't he said anything about them to her? She could understand not mentioning it before because she wouldn't get near him when she recalled he was a demon. But why not later after some of her memories returned?

Adalina walked towards the servant's kitchen for dinner when she passed by a sleeping Sebastian. She did a double take when she realized he had fallen asleep on one of the manor couches. She had never seen him even slightly tired much less sleeping before. She questioned if he even needed to sleep with all his abilities.

Adalina paused and watched him for a moment. If she didn't know any better, she might've thought he was dead by just how completely still his body was. Even his chest didn't move.

As she looked at him, she realized that she had only been thinking about how he felt about her.

But now she began to wonder how she had felt about him prior to her memory loss. Had she had feelings for him as well?

Sure, Sebastian was nice to her and she couldn't deny that he was extremely attractive, but to have feelings for a demon?

Adalina retrieved a blanket and draped it over him. Before she could stop herself, she lightly moved his hair away from his face, getting a good look at his defined features. Her hand lingered on his very cold skin for longer than she would ever admit.

She quietly left his side, not realizing that her heartbeat had sped up just a little bit.

Sebastian opened his eyes and sat up. A small smirk stretched across his face.

When he had sensed Adalina approaching, he became curious. Humans were always most vulnerable when they were sleeping, so he saw no harm in pretending to have that vulnerability for her sake.

Her reaction to his supposed sleep amused him.

Something was stirring in her, even if she didn't know it. Maybe the rest of her memories were attempting to return to her. If that was the case, he wouldn't need to wait much longer to finally be able to be close with her once again.

* * *

When Sebastian passed by the window, he looked out towards the gardens and saw Adalina once again practicing some of the moves they had been working on.

Nearly every spare moment she had, he could find her practicing. She practiced even more now than before she lost her memories.

He headed out of the manor to join her. Glancing up at the sky, he noticed gray clouds that presented a warning of an oncoming storm.

When Adalina was once again in his sights, he took a small breath. Very rarely did the demon ever feel nervous, but this was one of those times. While her back was turned to him, he came up behind her.

"You should move this arm up and this arm down," he said as he touched her arms to correct her.

Adalina's face reddened a little at the close contact with him. She turned around out of his arms to face him.

"You're doing quite well."

She gave him a very small smile.

Sebastian had forgotten how nice it was for that small smile to be directed at him. He had also forgotten how amusing it was to see a blush cross her face whenever he was close to her.

"Adalina…there is something I have been wanting to tell you."

She raised her eyebrows a little as if to tell him to go on.

"Before you lost your memories…the two of us…were something more than…servants who worked together. We had feelings for each other that we never truly addressed."

Adalina felt her stomach flip. Had Grell truly been right after all? Was William really incorrect about demons not being able to love?

"You are…the only woman I have ever had those feelings for because…before I met you, it wasn't possible for me to feel things for a human."

So William wasn't totally wrong.

But of all the humans to fall in love with, how could Sebastian love someone like her?

She didn't even talk.

"But we spent much time together working for the young master and working to make sure you could defend yourself," Sebastian continued. "We took care of one another when we were both injured under different circumstances. Each moment we spent together awoke more feelings in both of us."

The head maid stared at Sebastian, trying to process what he was saying. Was he speaking the truth? Had she truly had feelings for…a demon?

Or was he simply telling her that she had been in love with him in order to get something from her?

"These past few months knowing that you cannot remember any of those moments has destroyed me because…I am in love with you, Adalina."

Her heart skipped a beat. A love confession from a demon? Was this even possible?

She knew that he could be lying to her, but something about the way he was telling her all of this seemed so…believable. Didn't he say earlier that he never lied?

Besides, what would he hope to gain by telling her she had been in love with him? He had to know by now that she wouldn't just take those words at face value.

"I know you don't remember those moments, but surely there is some part of you somewhere that feels something towards me. Anything."

Adalina truly did try to remember anything that would help her recall how she felt about Sebastian. She had been trying ever since she had seen him sleeping on the couch. But she couldn't even remember any events much less a feeling. She looked at him sadly, feeling guilty that he was pouring whatever heart he had out to her and she could not reciprocate the confession.

Sebastian sighed heavily. He had hoped that confessing his love for Adalina might bring back some memories, or she would at least remember how she felt about him. He knew she was just so close.

But it appeared his efforts were useless. She still could remember nothing about the moments they had shared that had led them to the very intimate night after she had been tortured because of Lukas.

Adalina let out a large sigh as Sebastian turned to go back inside the manor. Why had he waited so long to confess his love for her? Why couldn't she just remember?

Suddenly, the worst headache she had ever experienced in her life hit her full-force. She bent over at the waist, holding her head in her hands as it began to throb.

Her eyes began blinking rapidly.

* * *

 _Her captors returning to the manor for her. Ciel and Sebastian protecting her. Holding hands with Sebastian to allow him to see her memories._

 _Sebastian bandaging her hand after she angrily hit a wall for appearing weak in front of her master._

 _Saving Ciel from cracking ice and falling through herself. Sebastian pulling her out and holding her close to keep her warm._

 _Pretending to be a woman of the upper class. Dancing with Sebastian at a social event. Fighting against Lord Daniel and winning._

 _Helping Ciel when he had an asthma attack. Comforting him after a nightmare._

 _Caring for Sebastian when he had been greatly injured by a Death Scythe. Pain and grief taking over when she believed him to be dead._

 _Getting tortured alongside him after being captured by Lukas. Watching in horror as he was hurt and she could do nothing. Letting Sebastian carry her back to the manor and care for her injuries._

 _Sebastian kissing her neck and shoulders as he laid her down on her bed. Enjoying the feeling of his lips touching her skin and his hands pressing into her body._

 _Speaking with an Oracle. Nearly killing Viscount Druitt._

 _Sebastian calming her down after a horrid nightmare. Falling asleep in his arms._

 _Being rescued from another demon._

 _Fighting against five of Lukas's minions. Caring for Ciel's injury._

 _Saving Ciel from the pond, despite being unable to swim._

 _Bring pricked with a dart._

 _Falling to the ground._

 _Falling asleep…_

* * *

Adalina gasped quietly as the images finally stopped. She took a few ragged breaths, trying to quickly process all of the images that had flashed before her. Her widened eyes looked up at Sebastian's retreating form.

Her lips pressed together and her hands curled into fists in anxiousness as her feet rocked back and forth.

She had to do it.

She wanted to do it.

"Sebastian!"

Sebastian whipped around with wide eyes and stared at the young woman.

Had Adalina, the woman who had never said a single word since she had arrived at the manor and an indefinite amount of time before that, just…said his name?

"I remember. Everything."


	28. Chapter 28

Realizing that she had just spoken for the first time in however long it had been, Adalina pressed her hand to her mouth, her eyes just as wide as Sebastian's.

Her voice. It was so much more beautiful than anything Sebastian had ever heard in his very, very long life. He had never expected that what would come from her mouth was something that practically defined beauty. And to think that his name was the first thing she said…

He slowly approached her, his face etched with disbelief which was something that he very rarely showed. "Everything?"

Adalina nodded a little as her hand came away from her mouth. She couldn't believe that she had actually talked. She almost felt a little dizzy at the elation she felt.

Sebastian's gloved hand slowly came up to caress her cheek. He had longed for this moment for such a very long time, and he was almost afraid that if he touched her, the moment would end.

Adalina leaned into his gentle touch. She now remembered why she loved it so much. She remembered every one of his gentle touches.

But she also remembered something else.

Sadness filled her eyes, and she gently pushed his hand away from her face before walking further into the gardens.

Sebastian couldn't understand why she had finally spoken after all this time, the one thing she refused to do, before rejecting him completely.

Then it hit him. The last thing that had happened before she had been struck by the paralyzing drug and her subsequent memory loss was him rejecting her kiss.

The butler quickly went after her. After all of the frustration, anger, and jealousy (even if he wouldn't admit it) he had experienced in the last several months, he was not going to lose her now.

He slowly walked up to her as she was looking at the roses. "Adalina?"

The young woman turned around but did not meet his eyes.

"Do you truly remember everything? Even Lukas and the drug?"

She nodded a little.

"Another Reaper, William, took care of him. He will no longer hurt you."

She made no movement and continued to look down at the ground.

Sebastian put his hand to her chin and gently forced her head up so she had to look at him. "Come now. You have spoken once. Surely you can do so again."

Adalina moved away from his touch for the second time. "You pulled back," she stated, heartbreak lacing her words. "Why didn't you kiss me?"

Sebastian sighed. He could sense her frustration and betrayal. And he didn't have to be a demon to hear how upset she was. The Oracle had to have seen her and told of what must happen in order for them to be together.

"I wasn't ready," he confessed. "But I am now."

"How do you know that?"

He didn't blame her for her question. If she kissed him and he wasn't ready, all chances of them being together were forever gone.

"These past few months where you had lost your memories of me made me feel an anger I am not sure I have ever experienced before. I had to put up with you being afraid of me all over again. The first time was just a nuisance to me, but this time…I longed for nothing more than to be able to touch you or even be near you again. It made me realize that I was willing to do anything if it meant I could be with you."

"Anything?"

"Anything. Whatever it takes so that you are mine and I am yours."

Adalina took his hands in hers and slowly slipped off his gloves to reveal his black nails and purple contract symbol. Though her memories had returned, she had forgotten how inhumanely cold his skin was.

"Sebastian Michaelis…" she said quietly.

Sebastian felt some kind of emotion he had never felt before fill him completely as the sound of his given name left her lips.

"I am so in love with you."

The demon butler had never felt what it was like to have the one he loved return his affections. After all, he had never had any affections to return. Not to mention he had never expected Adalina to actually say the words. But he could safely say he had never experienced such a feeling before. When those beautiful words flowed from her mouth, suddenly, he didn't have a care in the world. Nothing mattered anymore as long as she was by his side.

Adalina leaned her head up to him. Sebastian did not pull away this time nor did he even think of doing so. He knew that he was fully ready to accept the consequences of what was about to happen. For once in his entire demon's life, he didn't care about himself anymore. All he cared about was her.

Adalina pressed her lips to his before she could change her mind. Her heartbeat quickened again as she lived the moment both of them had been waiting so long for.

Despite knowing the results of her actions, Sebastian found himself welcoming the contact of her lips on his own and enjoyed every second of it.

Adalina could feel his hands becoming warmer as they clutched onto hers. When her eyes opened again as they parted, she saw that Sebastian's eyes had lost some of their crimson color, and his skin was not as deathly pale as it had been before. She looked down at his hands and smiled. His nails were no longer black, and the contract mark looked more like a scar, but even that was quickly fading.

Adalina held Sebastian's hands up for him to see for himself. They both laughed quietly.

The transformation had worked.

A clap of thunder filled the sky, and the clouds finally released the built-up water they had been storing away.

Adalina laughed as the two of them quickly got utterly drenched. Sebastian's bangs stuck to his face, and she couldn't deny that it made him all the more attractive.

Sebastian gently fondled a strand of her darkened hair.

Adalina caressed the side of his face like he had done so many times with her.

"I love you," she said breathlessly before throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him even more passionately than she had previously. She could feel his hand tangle into her wet brown hair.

Sebastian lifted her up, and Adalina wrapped her legs around his waist as his arms clutched onto her back. Adalina breathlessly kissed him, greatly enjoying the feeling of never wanting to stop that she had not previously known. She hadn't realized just how much she had wanted to kiss him—really kiss him—until it finally happened. The feeling of being passionately kissed by the one she loved, knowing that he loved her in return…she could say the words now, but there weren't any to properly describe it.

Sebastian had never known the feeling of having to cease activity for oxygen, but this was to be the first of many. He set her back down, and they both took deep breaths to regain their composure, but he never released her from his hold.

"Just, uh, one thing," Adalina said to him with a small smile. "Who's going to tell the young master about this?"

* * *

The Oracle stood atop a branch on one of the trees outside the manor, completely dry even in the torrential downpour. She leaned against the trunk, her arms and legs crossed, and let out a small laugh as she watched the events unfold.

She had been keeping an eye on Phantomhive Manor ever since her talk with Sebastian and Adalina, waiting to see what choice the demon would make.

"Well done, Sebastian," she smiled.

She put her balled up hand in front of her mouth and then blew into it as she opened it up. Black and white sparks floated from her palm and surrounded Sebastian and Adalina, though the two of them were oblivious to them. Only Oracles could see the sparks.

The white sparks cast protection over Adalina so that no demon or any other supernatural creature could ever sense that she was a pure of heart being, therefore, none of them would ever attack her again.

The black sparks would give Sebastian a little something that he was missing.

* * *

After drying off and changing clothes, Adalina knocked on the door to Ciel's study, Sebastian behind her.

This was probably not going to go over well.

"Yes, what is it?" Ciel called.

Adalina looked at Sebastian nervously and took a deep breath before walking in.

"Adalina? Is there something wrong?"

"No, sir," she answered. "But there is something we need to tell you."

Ciel's visible eye widened. "You're talking."

His head maid smiled a little. "Yes, sir."

Her voice was so much more…beautiful than Ciel had expected. It was almost like she wasn't talking but singing. "Why now?"

"Well, that ties in with what we need to tell you."

"What is it?"

Adalina took another deep breath. Of all the times to regain her voice, it was right when she had to explain one of the most difficult things of her life. "Well, first of all, my memories have all returned."

"That's good news."

"Um…Sebastian and I…over the past several months…began to develop…something more than a…working relationship."

Ciel's eyebrows rose, but he didn't look surprised. "I see."

"But an Oracle came to see the both of us."

"An Oracle?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yes, sir, I know it sounds a bit hard to believe, but it's true. The Oracle explained that I am a human who is pure of heart, and that the only way the two of us could be together…was if Sebastian became human."

Now Adalina had Ciel's full attention. The young earl seriously doubted Sebastian had gone through with it. He hated humans, and it was impossible for him to ever consider turning into one. He didn't really understand why they felt the need to bring him in on this whole situation.

"So he did."

"Wait, what?!" Ciel exclaimed as he bolted up from his seat. He looked at Sebastian in disbelief. "You turned into a human?!"

Sebastian bowed a little. "I did indeed."

"But you hate humans. Why would you turn into one for the sake of being with one? I thought it wasn't possible for demons to love anyway!"

"As did I, my lord. But it appears that when I shared her memories several months ago, it allowed for me to feel emotions, or so the Oracle said."

"This doesn't affect just you two, this affects me as well! Why was I not informed of this?!"

"The Oracle made it clear that this decision was for the both of us," Adalina said calmly. "If you knew about it, it may not have ever worked. But while I know this changes a lot, we are willing to work something out."

" _What_?!"

"The two of us shall remain your servants and will help you to find whoever is responsible for your parents' death. Even after that goal is achieved, we shall continue to protect you with our very lives as Phantomhive servants. In the end, your soul shall remain intact."

Adalina usually didn't see Ciel as just a 14-year-old boy since he acted so much older, but the way he was reacting to this news certainly made him appear 14 if not younger.

"That was _not_ the deal! Why would you even _want_ to stay now?"

"Because, my lord," Adalina continued, "we have grown to care for you. Sebastian will never admit it out loud, so I'll say it for him, but even in your previous situation, there was a part of him that genuinely cared about your wellbeing and not just because you were his contract. The same goes for me. We wish to stay and protect you. If you will allow us to."

Ciel turned away from them and placed his hands on his desk. This was a lot for him to take in all at once. How had he lost his butler like _this_? To a _woman_? A woman he respected, but a woman all the same!

How was he supposed to fulfill his end of the deal now? He was supposed to be giving his soul to Sebastian in order to find out who killed his parents! If Sebastian helped him find his parents' killer, there was no way Ciel could hold up his end of the bargain. How was Sebastian _okay_ with that?

Ciel never liked it when his plans were messed up, even if it was for his benefit in the end. If he had a plan, he wanted to see that plan through to the end, no matter the consequences. The plan here had been to have Sebastian help him achieve his revenge and then give the demon his soul. _That_ was the plan! Regardless of how awful the outcome was for him, it was _his_ plan and he didn't want it messed with.

"How could Sebastian even help me now?" the earl asked his two servants.

"While I may not possess the same skills I had before, my lord, I assure you that I am more than capable of helping you fulfill your duties as the Queen's Guard Dog," Sebastian answered. "If I couldn't do something like that, then what kind of butler would I be?"

Ciel rolled his eyes. Sebastian had turned into a human and yet his irritating speech had not changed a bit.

"We will both help you," Adalina stated. "Whatever you need, and whatever it takes. We swear on the name Phantomhive."

The young earl sighed. Such a promise was not to be taken lightly. They both knew how important his family name was to him.

"You truly wish to stay?" he asked as he turned around.

"Indeed, young master," Adalina answered. "We shall stay with you until the very end. Which now…will be your death."

"You realize that if you want to pursue this relationship, you could no longer be my servant. Sebastian could remain, but you would have to be dismissed."

"With all due respect, my lord, you don't exactly run a very traditional manor. But in order to not taint the Phantomhive name and keep up appearances like we always do, we shall keep our relations a secret from others."

Ciel sighed heavily. As much as he hated it and wished that whatever that stupid Oracle was had just minded its own business, there was nothing he could do now. Sebastian was human and there was no going back. He knew full well that he couldn't have his two best servants up and leave him because without them, the house would (possibly literally) go down in flames…again. So if they actually wanted to stay his servants, he couldn't deny them a place of work especially when he needed them so much. Not that he would ever admit that.

"So be it."

Adalina curtseyed while Sebastian bowed, and the two of them exited his study.

Ciel went over to the mirror on the wall and removed his eye patch. The contract symbol was indeed gone from his right eye. However, the vibrant blue of his left eye had not returned. His eye was now a dull gray color.

The eye patch would have to remain.

Adalina looked over at Sebastian as she closed the door. "That went over better than I expected. Are you okay with remaining a servant to him even if we must hide our feelings for one another?"

Sebastian sighed heavily. "The sacrifices I make for you, Adalina."

Adalina bit her bottom lip. She couldn't blame him if he was upset with her. After all, to remain a servant when he now got nothing out of it _and_ have to hide his feelings for her? It was a rather unfortunate combination.

Sebastian quickly put his arm around her waist and pulled her towards him with a smirk. "You are worth every one them."

Adalina smiled at him. "So now that you're human, you can choose your own name. Is there a particular one you wish to have?"

Sebastian thought for a moment. "Admittedly, 'Sebastian' has grown on me over the course of my time here. Not only that, but it has deep meaning now. This name was the first word you spoke in years. So 'Sebastian' I shall remain."

Adalina laughed lightly and kissed him softly, both of them treasuring every second of the sign of affection.

"You know…" Sebastian said once he pulled away from her. "I could really use something to eat."


	29. Chapter 29

Sebastian clapped his hands together, drawing the attention of the four other servants. "If I could have your attention, Adalina has something she wants you all to know."

Adalina stepped up next to him with a small smile. "I got my memories back."

There was silence in the room for a long time as the servants just stared at the head maid. Then they all rushed forward towards her in a frenzy.

"You just spoke, you did!" Mey-Rin exclaimed. "That's amazing!"

For the first time, the servants got to see her truly smile in front of them as she embraced them. Not her barely noticeable smile that she always gave them. A real smile that showed her beautiful white teeth.

"I can't believe you really talked!" Baldroy said with a laugh. "Didn't think I'd ever see that in my lifetime!"

"If I may, miss."

Adalina turned around at the sound of the elderly man's voice. Her eyes widened a little as she saw Tanaka restored to his full form, a rare sight for her indeed.

Tanaka approached her with a gentle smile. "You've earned this for your service to the Earl Phantomhive." He pinned a small button of the Phantomhive crest onto the cuff of her sleeve on her uniform. Such a pin was usually only reserved for the butler. Tanaka bowed a little. "No one is more deserving of your position here."

"Thank you so much, Tanaka. It means a lot to me that you think so." She looked over at the cook. "Bard, thank you for looking out for me these past few weeks while I was dealing with my memory loss."

"It's no big deal," Bard said, waving his hand dismissively. "Though if you don't mind my askin', what exactly had you so…troubled?"

Adalina let out a small laugh. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"All right, enough celebrations," Sebastian said. "You all have chores to finish. Mey-Rin, please mop the ballrooms and clean the rug in the foyer. Finny, remove the weeds from the gardens, and please do mind the weed-killer this time. Bard, begin preparations for dinner. And Tanaka…you're fine just as you are."

"Ho, ho, ho," the man laughed, having returned to his usual small form with his tea in hand.

"Meanwhile, Adalina and I shall attend to other matters."

"Yes, sir!" the servants chorused.

Adalina and Sebastian began to head out while the others went to their various stations.

"Adalina," Finnian called before he left, a small trace of a blush gracing his cheeks and moving up to his ears. "Your voice is really, really pretty."

Adalina smiled again which caused his blush to deepen. "Thank you, Finny."

* * *

For the first time in many, many years, Sebastian got to understand what it felt like to be full and well-fed. When he ate his first food as a human, he now understood why humans loved it so much. As a demon, he had not been able to appreciate all the many dishes and flavors because human food had no taste to him. Souls had varying tastes depending on the person. He had eaten some really good ones and some really bad ones, but there were endless limits to the incredible amounts of combinations it was possible to make with actual human food.

Baldroy's cooking truly was terrible.

After a while, the servants quickly realized that Sebastian and Adalina liked each other as more than fellow servants. The head servants had tried to keep it a secret from them per Ciel's indirect wishes, but it became increasingly difficult with each passing day. Had Tanaka been in his true form, he never would've approved being the traditional man he was. But fortunately for them, his true form had yet to appear. They would deal with that when the time came.

Mey-Rin was a bit disappointed since she had such an unrequited crush on Sebastian ever since he had hired her, but it was impossible for her to be mad. Sebastian had opened Adalina up again and got her to smile and speak once more. How could she possibly be angry at something like that?

Finnian also found himself a little disappointed, having developed a very small crush on Adalina in the more recent months. However, since his crush was far from the level of Mey-Rin's infatuation, it didn't take him long to get over it, especially when he saw how happy Adalina was with Sebastian.

After getting Ciel's permission to leave the manor for an hour, only after she had told him where she was going, Adalina headed to a place she had not been to in many years.

Her home.

She watched for a few moments as a mother and father played with their young child outside. Her eyes watered as she remembered when that girl used to be her before the rest of her childhood had been ripped away from her forever.

The family soon walked down the street leaving the house empty. Taking a shaky breath, Adalina approached the side of the house and placed a small rose from the Phantomhive garden against it.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered as she knelt down. "I know it took me far too long to come back. You'll be pleased to know that I went on to live a good life. It took a long time…and I didn't talk for a while. But now…I have so many people who care about me. I work hard as a head maid for a young earl who solves cases in London's underworld for the Queen. He's a very good master to me. I don't think I could ask for anyone better. He tries to give off the impression that he is unfeeling, but deep down, I know that he cares. He helped me get justice for you both. And…I found someone to love. You would both like him. Eventually. We would probably have to leave out a few details here and there. I don't think you would approve of his history. But he will protect me with his life, and I will protect him. That's what you really wanted for me."

Several tears ran down her face as she stood up again.

"I love you both. I always will."

She walked away from the house to return to the manor, finally getting closure about everything that had happened to her.

* * *

Sebastian was busy that night and still attempting to adjust to doing things as a human, so Adalina was the one to help Ciel prepare for bed.

The butler was slowly beginning to adjust his new life, but Adalina had seen him frustrated more times in the past few days than in her whole employment as a Phantomhive servant. She knew it was difficult for him to operate on the same level as the rest of them, but he would eventually get used to it. She would be there to help him.

"Sir?" she said quietly as she helped Ciel undress. "There's something I need to tell you."

"Is it anything like the last thing you had to tell me?"

Adalina smiled a little. "No. Um…when I got my memories back, I remembered some things that I had long since forgotten. I…I think I met your father before."

Ciel froze and looked at her in disbelief.

"It was winter," she recalled. "I had been living on the streets for a few months by then. Most people didn't look my way, especially nobles. I can count on one hand the number of nobles who even glanced at me."

Ciel felt a small pang of guilt, recalling that he had been one of those nobles who had dismissed her.

"But…one day in December…this man knelt down in front of me. He had the warmest voice and the kindest smile I had ever seen. He took off his coat and gave it to me to shield me from the cold since…well, you know, I didn't have proper attire. Then he gave me some food. It was the most I had eaten in a long time. He promised me that he would later find someone who could help me. I waited for days, but I never saw him again."

Ciel listened to her story with rapt attention. Helping out the less fortunate sounded like something his father would do.

To think that he and his head maid had actually met only a few years ago…

"I wasn't angry at him, though. I believed him when he said he would help me, so I figured that something must've happened to him. But you know, in a way, he did help me after all. He had you. And I thank you for that, my lord."

Adalina pulled the blankets up over his small body. Then she picked up the candelabra from the dresser.

"I just thought you deserved to know that."

"Adalina…" Ciel started. "I have to confess something. I don't usually think about my parents much, and I say that it's because that I'm the head of the household now but really…it's because it's too painful. And I don't want anyone to see me weak."

"Young master, if I may, no one would think you are weak for missing your family."

"I've spent so long trying to get other people I do business with to see me as more than a child. Showing that kind of weakness would not help my image."

"Even earls are allowed to mourn for those they loved."

Ciel lay down in bed and pulled the covers up. "I suppose."

Adalina politely curtseyed. "Good night then, my lord."

"Adalina…please stay. Just until I fall asleep."

Adalina smiled a little. "Of course, young master."

* * *

It was a regular day at the manor when the doors slammed open before Sebastian even knew someone was outside.

That was certainly something he was still attempting to get used to.

"CIEL!" Soma exclaimed bursting inside. "Are you here?!"

Sebastian and Adalina came into the foyer to greet their new unexpected guests. Agni quickly followed Soma into the manor with a polite bow to the two servants.

"Adalina! How are you feeling?" Soma asked energetically. "Have your memories returned yet?"

Adalina smiled broadly and nodded.

Soma's eyes widened. "You just smiled at me! I have never seen a smile like that from you before!"

Adalina laughed very lightly. "…I can do more than just smile for you now."

Soma and Agni were so shocked that actual words had left her mouth that they didn't even notice that she had technically not addressed him properly.

Then it happened. Both men started weeping hysterically.

"Oh, thank you, Kali!" Agni praised. "It is a miracle!"

Soma ran up to Adalina and hugged her tightly. She couldn't help but laugh at his excitement as she gently hugged him back. "You are speaking! You are finally smiling and speaking!"

Adalina nodded. "Yes. I am."

"What happened? Why now?"

The head maid glanced over at Sebastian for a moment. "I'm not afraid anymore."

When Soma looked over at Sebastian, he felt confused. He wasn't so…scary anymore. That strange aura he constantly gave off seemed to have disappeared. He couldn't explain why that was, but it was a bit of a relief. Maybe now he could stand within five feet of the butler without fearing for his life.

"To make up for coming unannounced, may I help with dinner preparations?" Agni asked Sebastian.

Sebastian smiled a little. "Very well. If you will follow me to the kitchen. Adalina, have Prince Soma help you with your chores." The butler sent a suave smile in the prince's direction. "I'm sure he won't have any qualms about that."

Adalina curtseyed and then turned to face Soma. "If you will follow me upstairs then, sir."

Soma went with Adalina while Agni went with Sebastian. Soma was eager to hear Adalina talk some more. Her voice and smile were so beautiful. They didn't hold a candle to Mina's. Of course, Adalina was better than Mina even when she didn't talk. Mina held a lot of darkness in her heart that he hadn't been aware of. He blamed himself for much of that, but even though Adalina had been through much darkness herself (what it was, he didn't know but he knew it was bad if she was afraid to talk), she didn't let it stop her from being kind and an overall wonderful person.

Now that she spoke, he realized how much more beautiful it made her overall. It seemed to him a crime that the world had been deprived of hearing her beautiful voice for so long.

While Soma helped Adalina with her chores well enough, he kept asking her question after question so she would keep talking. On more than one occasion, he stopped working just so he could listen to her voice.

It made Adalina smile. She liked smiling again.

Down in the kitchen, Sebastian and Agni flew across the room to make a meal worthy for the earl. Agni knew there was something different about Sebastian, but he just couldn't put his finger on it. He didn't _look_ much different and he didn't _act_ different, but he was just… _different_.

"I see you have gotten quite close with Miss Adalina," Agni finally said to break the silence.

"We are two servants who work together. As we are both the head servants of the household, it is only natural that we would become close."

"I understand. But I mean you have gotten very _close_." Agni smiled fondly. "I could see the way she looked at you when we arrived."

Sebastian chuckled. "We shall have to work on that."

"Is it a problem?"

"In this culture, it is considered inappropriate for two servants to be together romantically. The young master doesn't particularly care, but Adalina insisted on keeping the fact that we are involved a secret so as not to taint his name. She really does look out for him in more ways than one."

"Is that why you fell in love with her?"

"It's rather complicated how exactly I fell in love with her."

"Love is rarely logical."

"I could not agree more."

Agni smiled. That had to be why Sebastian was different. He was in love. There was no other explanation for it. "I think it is wonderful that the two of you have found each other. I know life has been hard for her since long before I met her. But I can honestly say that I have never seen her look happier than I did just now. You changed her."

Sebastian smiled. "We changed each other."

If only Agni knew just how true those words were…


	30. Epilogue

Sebastian was working in the kitchen, fixing yet another Baldroy mess. It was times like these he quite missed his ability to complete things perfectly in the blink of an eye. But every time he missed his powers, he thought about Adalina's smile and her beautiful voice and he knew that if given the chance, he would make the same decision all over again.

When he went to sweep up the remains of Baldroy's cooking, the action was completed before he even had time to process what he had done.

Confused, Sebastian tried again. He focused all of his energy, and he had fixed up the kitchen in no time flat.

He looked down at his hands. No black nails, no contract mark. He then felt his chest. A normal human heartbeat. He was still human.

So…why were his supernatural abilities returning?

Desperate for answers, Sebastian controlled his speed and returned to the forest where he had had his anger tantrum several weeks before. He had to test this.

His speed had definitely returned in all its glory. There was no doubt about that. He put his hand against a tree and pushed. The tree cracked right where his hand was before falling over.

Strength was back as well.

With one swift twirl of his finger, one of the branches on the tree twisted around and cracked off from the tree trunk.

Sebastian focused his mind and was able to deduce a family of three a few miles outside of the forest sitting down to dinner.

One more test. Sebastian picked up a piece of bark from the fallen tree and lifted up his shirt sleeve before jamming the piece of bark into his skin. Dark red blood oozed from the wound and dripped onto the grass.

Sebastian closed his eyes and concentrated. When he opened his eyes, the wound had healed.

The demon-turned-human rushed back to the manor to find Adalina.

The Oracle smirked from her position in the trees, having watched Sebastian run all his little tests. She couldn't help but laugh to herself as she saw him race back to Phantomhive Manor. She knew very well the whole time that it was possible for Sebastian to become human and keep his abilities as well. But she needed to see if he was willing to give all of that up for Adalina. He had to decide if he loved her enough to forgo all of that power. If she had told him he could have both in the end, his decision would mean nothing. He needed to choose his love for her over his power. And he had.

Such actions would not go unrewarded.

She decided that she would continue to keep an occasional eye on Phantomhive Manor to ensure that Adalina and Sebastian were getting along. If she determined that they needed her help again, she would gladly offer it to them.

When it came down to it, dealing with those two was the most excitement she had had in 2000 years.

"Adalina!" Sebastian called to the head maid who was cleaning the ballroom.

"What is it?" she asked, noticing his rather panicked look. "Is everything okay?"

"More than okay. I'm not quite sure how it's happened because I'm definitely human, and I'm positive the transformation worked, but…I have maintained all of my abilities."

"What do you mean?"

"Everything I was able to do before, I can do now. With the exception of eating souls, of course."

Adalina smiled. "So…your speed, your strength, your ability to heal…"

"Yes, everything."

"How?"

"I don't know."

"Perhaps…the Oracle?"

"Why would she return my powers to me now?"

"Because…you made the right decision. You were willing to give all of that up for me. Perhaps this is a bit of a reward for making the right choice."

"The young master will certainly be pleased. I think he was rather worried about how I would handle his cases for the Queen without my abilities."

"I'm sure you would've managed either way." She looked at him with a smile. "Can you still do that thing with your eyes?"

Sebastian smirked as his eyes glowed brighter than ever. "I can indeed."

"I guess that's all you can do without changing into your previous true form. But that's usually all it takes to intimidate someone. Although, I have to admit, I find it rather…alluring."

Sebastian smirked again as his eyes returned to normal. "Well, now, my dear, you can be sure that I shall protect the young master…and you…from anything and everything. I swear it on my beating human heart."

Adalina smiled again. "And I shall continue to protect you from Grim Reapers and Death Scythes." She untied the whip from around her waist and held it between them. "Shall you help me prepare?"

"It would be an honor."

Sebastian pulled her close to him and captured her lips into another kiss.

Adalina smiled into the kiss with him, silently wondering how she had ever gotten caught up in such a complicated situation.

But despite all of the horrors she had been through in the past, she wouldn't change anything if it meant gaining all that she had. A good master who cared about her wellbeing despite his refusal to admit it, wonderful servants to work with who would protect her with their lives, and a devilishly handsome butler who loved her even when she had been at her worst.

She could want for nothing more.

She was happy.

* * *

 **Thank you so much to everyone who has followed this story. Special thanks to The Night Whisperer for such wonderful reviews on every single chapter. I am unbelievably honored by the number of people who have favorited and followed this story. Thank you!**


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